Utah needs help understanding its elusive river otters.
The state’s Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) on Monday called on Utah residents to report all sightings of the animals, the number of which is still unknown in the state.
“River otters are important because they are an indicator of how healthy Utah’s aquatic environment is,” said Kim Hersey, DWR’s non-wild mammal coordinator, in Monday’s announcement. “They have low tolerance for polluted water and require abundant prey population. Knowing where they are across the state is critical to helping us deal with this species. Anglers and other river recreational guests are on the water and can do a lot help us track the distribution of otters across the state by reporting all sightings. “
The species of otter native to Utah is the northern or North American river otter (Lontra canadensis). According to the Smithsonians National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, they have long, lean, muscular bodies and short legs. Their fur is brown to gray, and adult males grow to be 10 to 33 pounds and 2.5 to five feet long.
These riparian mammals were originally common in most of the United States and Canada, but were hunted and caught for fur in the 19th and 20th centuries, according to the National Wildlife Federation. This resulted in them becoming locally extinct in parts of their range, but they have been successfully reintroduced in many places and their population is considered stable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Even so, they are still at risk from pollution and habitat degradation.
The history of the northern river otter in Utah has followed a similar pattern. They never lived in large numbers in the state, according to DWR, and this was made worse by overcatching by early settlers and habitat changes caused by development.
That began to change in 1899 when the DWR’s predecessor classified them as rare and legislators voted to ban the hunting and dropping of mammals. In 1989, DWR decided to increase the state’s otter population by relocating 67 of them and introducing them to the Green River in eastern Utah between 1989 and 1992. More otters were reintroduced in the Strawberry, Escalante, and Provo Rivers in the 2000s.
However, otters old and new are still difficult to track down.
“Because of their mysterious nature, large ranges and low density, otter populations are difficult to monitor and there is currently no population estimate,” wrote the DWR.
The agency requests anyone who sees an otter or signs of an otter such as tracks and feces for a photo or video along with a location. to send [email protected].
“The data from these sightings will help us update the state’s river otter management plan,” said Hersey. “Before we can plan for the future, we need a good idea of the current state of otters in the state. Based on these reported sightings, we will use targeted surveys to gather more information about the otter population. It will also help us identify areas without otters that could be candidates for future transplant populations. “
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