When my mom first moved to Austin, in the early 90's, she called me up excitedly a few days after she moved into the apartment I had found her, which was near a creek, to report that she had seen an otter, and enjoyed watching it frolic. She was heartbroken when I told her she had seen a rodent, not an otter, and all my descriptions of how fascinating the whole ecology of nutria were, and how they fit into the general picture of South American rodents, from cavies to capybaras, did not console her. People have that reaction to rodents. If something is a rodent it's somehow no longer cute. Sheesh. Anyway, that's why your paragraph about people reporting otters immediately brought nutria to mind - 'cause that's what people think they're seeing in Austin.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2006-04-28 07:26 pm (UTC)