Otter mistaken for drowning snowmobiler in Maine

[February 15, 2010]  GREENVILLE, Maine (AP) -- State officials in Maine say witnesses who reported seeing a drowning snowmobiler on a lake were probably looking at an otter enjoying a snack.

On Thursday, three people reported seeing a snowmobiler wearing all black and a black helmet struggling in Moosehead Lake. Officials used an airboat and flew overhead on both Thursday and Friday, but found no evidence that a person had gone through the ice.

Cpl. Mike Joy of the Maine Warden Service tells the Bangor Daily News that authorities did find pieces of crawfish and a small bloodstain on the ice, indicating that at least one otter had been feeding there. He says the animal would have appeared black to those onshore, given the distance and the sun's glare off the ice.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com/

[Associated Press]

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