What kind of Animal did I see?

Over the Summer I was at my camp, that lays on one of the finger-lakes in New York. As we got out of the water we saw an animal swim by. We think it was an otter, or beaver. We don’t think it was a beaver, because it had no paddles tail. And we don’t even think otters are native to New York. It definitely was not drift wood. Could it have been some kind of weasel, like a fisher or mink? If any one has any idea, please answer.

You are correct it wouldn’t be a beaver if the tail wasn’t flat. Muskrat are common in that area, and have more of an otter-like tail. They are much smaller, getting about the size of a small cat at best, while otters are much larger. River otter are native to that area, and are a possibility, but are rare and hard to see. The best way to tell the difference between the muskrat and otter is by size.

It would be very unusual to see a mink or fisher (which rarely eats fish) in water, but not impossible, it would probably be trying to get out of the water as quickly as possible.