Not independent yet

Encounters with River Otters (Lontra canadensis) always have a way of making you feel lucky.

 

Today (4 July 2018) we observed a mother and two pups.  Above, that's the mother in the middle and one pup to either side.


Here's a close-up of the mother and one pup (below).  It appeared that the pup was riding along on the mother's back (at least in part):

 

One more, of the two pups together:

 

River Otter pups stay with their mothers for about 9 months (!).  So these pups aren't independent yet, but they're in-training.

 P.S.  Happy Independence Day!