A River Otter pops out of an air hole in the ice in Yellowstone National Park to catch a breath.  These holes in the ice are important, because River Otters can only hold their breath for about eight minutes, so making sure they can come up when they need to is critical.  But 8 minutes is a long time when they are swimming away, it’s incredible how much distance they can cover in that time under the water/ice.

I like how this guy looks right at me, and has his little paw out of the hole as well. He didn’t stay out long before heading back under the ice to keep swimming upstream.

This image is copyright © Terri Shaddick, if you are interested in using or purchasing this image, or any other images on my site, contact Terri Shaddick at [email protected].

Taken: December 24, 2019
Location: Yellowstone National Park

Camera: Canon EOS 1DX Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4x III Extender
Focal Length: 700
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 6400
Exposure: 1/500