A similar thing happened here in Singapore. Otters were endangered, but after the government worked to clean up the waterways, they came back. They are now thriving, to the point where my condo has signs up saying “What to do when you encounter otters” [0] because occasionally they come in and raid our fish pond.
I was in Singapore last summer and have fond memories of going for a run and seeing a family of 6 or so otters running on the sidewalk a ways ahead of me at NUS :). They make such lovely little bouncing arcs when they run.
Cool to hear it's the result of government effort.
The first sign isn’t the otter itself. It’s the ripple – small, nearly invisible – spreading across the marsh.
Their return isn’t just welcome. It’s a sign the lakes themselves are healing.
The lake seems unchanged – yet it isn’t
The living world is not just an escape from humanity’s problems – it is the answer to them.
Finally some good news. I had no idea the Ohio Department of Wildlife had such an outstanding role in the recovery in the Great Lakes region. River otters are really interesting creatures.
Humboldt State supports an active citizen science project to observe and document river otter populations in the ~watershed of Humboldt Bay in Northern California. It's a cool model for engaging with the community to help protecting its natural resources. I could easily imagine similar resources in other regions.
*
https://hsu.reclaim.hosting/NorthCoastOtters/
Sea otters and River Otters are quite different species and they live in very different habitats.
My understanding is that Sea Otters don't really travel very far. They have serious predator and there are large gaps in kelp Forrests so they ~stick a kelp bed that they like and live there. River otters in contrast are ~the apex predator of a river and have a pretty extensive range. A river otter traveling 100 miles is not uncommon.
Sadly the sea otter populations were decimated by Russian and later American hunters in the 19th century and never really recovered. My understanding (limited to California) is that the southern sea otter was thought to be extinct until they found a population in Big Sur. They have since been slowly trying to expand its range north, but 80 years on and they have not gone much farther than the Northern end of the Monterrey bay. I suspect that with enough time and patience the Sea Otter will slowly be reintroduced along the entire coast, but it will take a while.
River Otters have been pretty prevalent in the San Juan Islands. I've not heard of issues with them there. I more hear negative impacts - going after chickens/etc; aggressive; things like that.
I recently read Tarka the Otter [1], which is the story of a life of an otter. At the end he is hunted by a farmer and a pack of otter hounds. It is pretty brutal. Reminds you that at the time they were seen as vermin and a nuisance, not cute and furry.
The main character of the stories I tell my son is an otter. They are very cute and resilient animals, was surprised to hear that they were, too, once endangered.
There are also some YouTube channels that share the days of some otters in captivity, not sure about how I feel about that.
Minks are really effective hunters. I think I remember reading about some anti-fur activists releasing hundreds of minks from a fur factory, and they caused havoc in the area. May have been in the UK. It was a while back.
The minks and fishers around where I live (Cayuga Lake in New York) are native. The bigger issue with wildlife around here is invasive species, especially plants. So much privet, bush honeysuckle, buckthorn, and multiflora rose. And many others.
The thing about predators, is that they tend to be spread thin. It’s the way they’re built. They are too competitive to form herds. Packs/prides, yes. Herds, no.
Having hundreds in one area is insane (unless it's for special occasions, like the Baja hammerhead convention). You only see that in video games and horror movies; not in nature.
A similar thing happened here in Singapore. Otters were endangered, but after the government worked to clean up the waterways, they came back. They are now thriving, to the point where my condo has signs up saying “What to do when you encounter otters” [0] because occasionally they come in and raid our fish pond.
[0] https://imgur.com/a/pLH5gNj
I was in Singapore last summer and have fond memories of going for a run and seeing a family of 6 or so otters running on the sidewalk a ways ahead of me at NUS :). They make such lovely little bouncing arcs when they run.
Cool to hear it's the result of government effort.
Awww… but they are soooo cute <3
BTW, I remember a fatal accident at Brasilia’s zoo with them when I was a kid.
That sounds like otter nonsense...
ahhh it wouldn't be Singapore without an extensive list of things you cannot do stapled onto it <3
Finally some good news. I had no idea the Ohio Department of Wildlife had such an outstanding role in the recovery in the Great Lakes region. River otters are really interesting creatures.
Humboldt State supports an active citizen science project to observe and document river otter populations in the ~watershed of Humboldt Bay in Northern California. It's a cool model for engaging with the community to help protecting its natural resources. I could easily imagine similar resources in other regions. * https://hsu.reclaim.hosting/NorthCoastOtters/
You are close by Oregon. Do you have insight into why it has been so hard to get Otter to return to the Oregon coast?
Some context:
https://www.opb.org/article/2024/07/03/sea-otters-spotted-of...
Sea otters and River Otters are quite different species and they live in very different habitats. My understanding is that Sea Otters don't really travel very far. They have serious predator and there are large gaps in kelp Forrests so they ~stick a kelp bed that they like and live there. River otters in contrast are ~the apex predator of a river and have a pretty extensive range. A river otter traveling 100 miles is not uncommon.
Sadly the sea otter populations were decimated by Russian and later American hunters in the 19th century and never really recovered. My understanding (limited to California) is that the southern sea otter was thought to be extinct until they found a population in Big Sur. They have since been slowly trying to expand its range north, but 80 years on and they have not gone much farther than the Northern end of the Monterrey bay. I suspect that with enough time and patience the Sea Otter will slowly be reintroduced along the entire coast, but it will take a while.
Otters seem to be doing quite well in town centres in the UK, along with more usual suspects: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/12/otter-ci...
River Otters have been pretty prevalent in the San Juan Islands. I've not heard of issues with them there. I more hear negative impacts - going after chickens/etc; aggressive; things like that.
> aggressive
If not friend, why friend shaped?
I recently read Tarka the Otter [1], which is the story of a life of an otter. At the end he is hunted by a farmer and a pack of otter hounds. It is pretty brutal. Reminds you that at the time they were seen as vermin and a nuisance, not cute and furry.
[1] https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/75899
Henry Williamson didn't sugarcoat the countryside. Can I recommend The Peregrine's Saga? Collection of short stories.
The main character of the stories I tell my son is an otter. They are very cute and resilient animals, was surprised to hear that they were, too, once endangered.
There are also some YouTube channels that share the days of some otters in captivity, not sure about how I feel about that.
This is one of the most hopeful and exciting things I've read in years.
The otter's curiosity makes it easy to have sympathy for. Hope their numbers grow back strong.
Also seeing minks and fishers.
Environmental activists rescued some mink and released them in a river by my parents house.
Within a couple of years they had completely wiped out the local moorhen population.
Nature is complicated
Minks are really effective hunters. I think I remember reading about some anti-fur activists releasing hundreds of minks from a fur factory, and they caused havoc in the area. May have been in the UK. It was a while back.
Yep, this was in the UK. Moorhens are pretty dumb birds so they just got wiped out.
The minks and fishers around where I live (Cayuga Lake in New York) are native. The bigger issue with wildlife around here is invasive species, especially plants. So much privet, bush honeysuckle, buckthorn, and multiflora rose. And many others.
The thing about predators, is that they tend to be spread thin. It’s the way they’re built. They are too competitive to form herds. Packs/prides, yes. Herds, no.
Having hundreds in one area is insane (unless it's for special occasions, like the Baja hammerhead convention). You only see that in video games and horror movies; not in nature.
A good book that addresses this issue in the title chapter: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Big-Fierce-Animals-Rare/dp/069102...