Audubon South Carolina

ASC operates two centers. Francis Beidler Forest in Four Holes Swamp is a 17,000-acre wildlife sanctuary featuring a 1-3/4 mile boardwalk through an old-growth cypress-tupelo swamp. Open Tues-Sun (closed Mon. & some holidays; admission fee). Silver Bluff along the Savannah River has 3,154 acres of upland pine forest, hardwood bottomlands, fields, lakes and streams with a checklist of over 200 species, including Wood Storks! Ed. programming and tours. Images © FBF, 2006-2016.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Otter Nap

Today warmed up nicely once the sun came out at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest. After hours of working in front of the computer, we decided to take a spin around the boardwalk and enjoy the bounty of water. As we approached Goodsen Lake at the far end of the boardwalk, we saw a pair of visitors obviously observing some wildlife.

What we all had a chance to observe was a sleepy River Otter (Lutra canadensis). Although the behavior was odd so close to humans, the otter appeared to be healthy and even took a brief swim before returning to the nook in the tree's buttress.