North American River Otter: Returning Resident of the San Miguel River

We had the uncommon treat of watching a North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) frolic in the settling ponds of the Pearl Property rolling and flipping through the mud collecting food items below. The aquatic mammals, once common in Colorado, were extirpated by trappers and reintroduced in the 1980s. In 2013, Boulder confirmed the first sighting of a North American river otter in about 100 years. River otters on the Valley Floor are a sign of a healthy ecosystem. In this diary entry of Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna we will discuss the historic range of the otter, why they went extinct from this region, the reintroduction efforts and successes as well as the natural history of this engaging native species. 

Photo: North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis). Photo Soleil Gaylord, Pearl Property settling ponds. April 2015.