It landed on a shoal further downstream. Its raised up tail flicked from side to side as it stretched out its neck and swivelled its head, looking extremely busy. In a moment it skipped onto a rocky patch and proceeded to neatly flip over one pebble after another, peeping into little cracks. The next moment it jumped in the water and hopped around, constantly jumping up and sinking back in like a huge black beetle, ceaselessly rummaging through the rubble on the river bed in search of insects. In great exultation, I tiptoed closer to it. This fellow was of a similar build to a large Eurasian wren. It was of a lively nature and in comparison to other birds I could only marvel at its courage. It even allowed me to approach within two or three metres and then it gazed at me in defiance. I could see an expression of naive curiosity flicker through its eyes, then it tilted its head slightly as if thinking and only then it reluctantly jumped into the water, taking short quick waddling steps in the downstream direction.
Lao Bu noticed my curiosity for this bird and proceeded to tell me that each part of the creek, starting at its source and going all the way out to the mouth, was inhabited by various animal species such as the kingfisher, the mallard, the Amur pike, the otter, the bear, the wolf (wolf dens were normally close to the source) and others. In the past there once used to be territory inhabited by the black stork and the mandarin duck. Both of these species are counted among the extremely rare bird species. Lao Bu and I had just intruded on the brown dipper's domain which spread across one or two kilometres. This bird species likes to build its nests close by the river. Its summer nesting ground was right next to the waterfall.
Its nest had the shape of a deep cup and was made out of moss. It sat tightly glued to the cliff face next to the waterfall. The outside of it was plastered with dry sedge which meant that no matter from what distance one looked at it, it made it seemed like a piece of dry mud that had just happened to land on the cliff edge. This camouflaged it so well that it almost blended in completely with the cliff face.
I drew a hasty sketch in my notebook of the terrain surrounding the nest so as to be able to find it next time I came. I would come back in the summer so that I could secretly observe its offspring and its summer activities.
At dusk, I observed from afar the two hunched black shapes that chased each other on the opposite bank. Their twisted bodies rolled around, snapping at each other. Withoutceasing to hiss and quarrel they then dived into the water. The larger of the two was the male otter. It incessantly gave out a series of short angry dog-like barks. They clearly communicated the barbaric impatience of an irritable man that was bent on subduing his unwilling female partner. Grey Lady's cries were mixed with whines of pain and were downright reproachful. Upon hearing them I almost became worried. It was evident that she was doing all in her power to escape her suitor, twisting and turning in every direction, but no matter how fast she moved she was unable to shake off her pursuer. Her rival was too large and too strong. On top of that there was a relentless determination that was evident from his actions and his urgent barks. Grey Lady was not going to escape him, she did not even stand the slightest chance.
The night fell on the Warm Lake. From the distant water surface a deep babbling sound emanated as if something was moving through the water. In the darkness, I could sense that the entire water surface was a stir. Ripple after ripple of small waves came lapping at the dark shore, brushing softly against the sandy bank. The night breeze blew gently as before, except that its tranquil rhythm was disrupted by the incessant stirring of the water that came to dominate the night scene. There was no rhythm to the sound, sometimes it was louder, sometimes fainter, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but what came through was the incessant delightful melody that emanated from within. Also, there was something revolving around in the water, making soft splashing and splattering sounds. Even when I could no longer hear the sound of the water lapping against the shore, I could still sense that there was something moving in the darkness. I could feel it intensely, yet I was unable to identify the nature of it. After a while, when the lake regained its calmness, I started to search for the answer. I felt as if the answer had already been in my mind for a long time, I just needed a little stimulus for it to leap into my consciousness. I longed for that word to come into my mind … What was it? Suddenly, a loud splooshing sound exuded from the depths of the lake, accompanied by a string of gurgling sounds. In that moment I abruptly came to realize that it was the sound of the "life force" . The splooshing sound contained within it the astonishing life force released in their ecstasy. According to those that have studied the mating behavior of otters, the male otter grips firmly onto the back of the female otter's neck. They then drift and roll in the water for as long as half an hour. I closed my eyes in the darkness and tried to imagine this unrestrained erotic dance. Their pliable bodies were tightly intertwined, contracting, slackening, turning and revolving in a countless number of graceful positions. They trembled in intense passion, turning the lake into a loud moving marriage bed.
Upon listening carefully, the stirring sound of the water was permeated with additional splatters, splashes and bubbles, and other noises that I was unable to identify. They all combined to form a moving, wild, chaotic and spurting fountain of life force.
