Otter caught swimming in Vancouver woman’s backyard pool

Vancouver residents are no stranger to hearing about otters swimming in ponds, but one woman in Kitsilano caught one swimming in her backyard pool.

Jasmine Sallay-Carrington was working from home near Jericho Beach on Tuesday when she heard her sister yell about the little creature paddling around.

Grabbing her phone to record, Sallay-Carrington looked out and saw the animal twisting and turning in the water, and going behind the stairs and looking out at her.

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“We heard some people outside the hedge yelling and that’s when we think it was crossing the street,” Sallay-Carrington told Global News. “Then one of the dogs started barking.”

She said when the otter got out of the pool after a few minutes, it scurried under the gate before it crossed the street going south, away from the ocean.

It was the first time she’d seen it, but her family thinks it may have been living in a nearby bush that was recently trimmed, which may have agitated the animal.

“We’re a little bit worried and we hope it’s OK,” she said.