The Cape Clawless Otter seen at the Grootrivier Vlei (bad photo by D.J. Long), with an inset of what a much better photographer produced (photo by Seapics).
Another surprise from last June’s visit was watching a big, blocky-headed male Cape Clawless Otter in the vlei (marsh) that borders Rooikatkloof. The vlei is part of the Grootrivier which usually flows seasonally, but this marsh is permanent, likely fed by springs since most of seasonal runoff the river produces is usually sucked dry by the local lucerne (alfalfa) farms. But the vlei is a magnet for rare birds, and one afternoon while birding inconspicuously in the bank of willow and acacia, I heard loud splashing that sounded like a randy waterbuck kicking up the mud. Waiting with a little silence & patience, out from the reeds swam a massive Cape Clawless Otter, crunching in a crayfish, and surprising the Tokoloshe out of me! Philipp told me that several months earlier he found a large otter scat on the Lulufontein Reserve, characteristic by it’s unusual length and tell-tale shellfish remains, so he wasn’t a bit surprised that we had an otter. This adds another mammal to our faunal list for the Klein Karoo Biosphere Reserves, and a charismatic one at that.
The Grootrivier Vlei – location of our Cape Clawless Otter
Klein Karoo Biosphere Reserves 