Memories of sea otters

It is hard to believe that, a year ago, Ros and I were coming to the end of our Alaska cruise, still hoping to see sea otters up close and personal. The cruise hadn't been quite what we had originally intended, for which I blame the US authorities - a ban on non-US citizens driving zodiacs meant that we weren't able to do all of the things that we had intended. This put a bit of a cramp on the wildlife element of the trip.

Indeed, we'd reached the last full day of the trip, and I was beginning to get a bit edgy about the lack of sea otters. So, why sea otters?

Well, how can I put it, they're incredibly personable creatures, with a relaxed attitude, a sense of fun and the most wonderful fur. Cute too, as anyone who's seen a video of a baby sea otter will testify. We'd seen them in aquariums, but seeing wild ones was very high on the bucket list indeed.

As our ship edged slowly into Cordova, our penultimate stop, the cry went up that there were sea otters. And, indeed, there were. Not too close, but close enough to make them out with binoculars. And maybe, just maybe, we might see more.

On coming ashore, I wanted to look at the harbour, only to be confronted with a rather nonchalant sea otter, floating idly by the edge of the harbour wall. Catching Ros's attention, we watched as it bobbed about a bit, did a few turns and dived beneath the surface. It turned out that the harbour at Cordova was a bit of a sea otter hangout - they were everywhere, determined to put on a show for any tourists who might drop by.

It was simply wonderful.

They are bigger than you think, about the size of a large spaniel, with sharp teeth, and making a welcome comeback after having been nearly hunted to extinction for their fur. Indeed, they've done so well that the local First Nation groups are concerned about their competition for fish stocks. Admittedly, the sea otters got there first, so my sympathy is a bit limited, especially as sea otters would probably bring significant tourism revenue into the Alaska coastal communities.

Lemurs next, I think...