Naturally Distracted: Mothers, Pups and the legend (of) Bertha

Naturally Distracted with Kirk Gentalen

This is a tale of a latrine, a bunch of mothers (river otter mothers, that is), and a legend. No one ever learned the name she ‘preferred to be referred to’ as, but those who aligned with her in the ‘otter orbit’ simply called her ‘Bertha’. And Bertha was a mother, and a legend. Legendary mother.

‘Been tracking river otters along the coast for 22 years now. Five years of those years I tracked Bertha. She was distinct, she was the local mother, and for 5 years there were little ones with her for much of the year. It was really something to see.

In 2021 she had four pups. Then four pups again in 2022, three in 2023, two in 2024, and finally a single pup in 2025. That’s 14 pups in five years and that feels impressive whether it is or not. I wouldn’t know — she is the only female river otter with pups I’ve tracked. So Bertha is all I know of otter mums and pups in mid-coast Maine, but I have a feeling she represents well. Or good.

Most of what I know of ‘the legend’ I learned from snow tracking in winter and from a motion triggered ‘game camera’ (awesome tool) pointed at a latrine along a trail Bertha and her pups would use. The trail goes between a den and a pond where the youngsters got acclimated to the swimming part of the being ‘semi-aquatic’ part of being ‘semi-terrestrial’ (or is it the other way around?).

Over the years the ‘Bertha pattern’ was fairly straight forward – around mid-June she’d trigger my camera with her ‘freshly emerged from the den’ youngsters.  At first it would be a struggle for the pups climbing over rocks, but by July the pups were well versed in the ways of the trail. They would stick together into winter before she’d kick them out, give birth and start the process once again. Last summer Bertha pupped a single river otter pup, and that got ‘us’ (the royal ‘us’) wondering what the ‘mum/pup’ scene might look like this year.

In June, things were ‘quiet’. Don’t get me wrong — there were otters tripping the camera — one group of four was being notable for their consistency. No mums with pups though, Bertha may have been around but apparently has not pupped a pup. Next generation step up, please!

Then on July 6, a female with three youngsters tripped the camera. The pups were neither small nor ‘freshly emerged’, but instead had rather ‘decent’ motor skills and agility. Looked like these pups had been venturing out of their den for a while (mid-June maybe?) but had just turned up in the area. Welcome!

About four hours later something remarkable happened – another female river otter with two ‘non-freshly emerged’ youngsters showed up on the camera! For the next two weeks both females and youngster — one with two young ones and the other with three — would trip the camera!

And then on July 23, something doubly remarkable happened: the two adults and five youngster turned up on the same 15-second clip (second group of otters shown below, appearing just after their counterparts). Turns out they all get along!

Flux is flux, change is change and Bertha apparently left a huge niche wide open. Big enough for two females and young to fit! Nice niche!

I’ve read that females with pups in California don’t get along, but in Alaska they do. Nothing about Maine though. I would imagine as long as the food the abundant, things would be chill. And from this clip, all the river otters seem to be getting along.

Changing of the guard — only time will tell if the group sticks together. Whatever happens to these river otters, it’s fun to watch the change…