The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis), a member of the weasel family, is about 3-4 feet long including their tails. They have a streamlined body, short legs with fully webbed feet, a muscular tail, and dense, short, glossy fur — all of which aid them in being excellent swimmers. They also have close-able nostrils and ears for swimming and foraging underwater.
Historically, river otter could be found throughout New York, but they declined due to unregulated hunting, habitat destruction, and water pollution.
In the early 1990s, the river otter was only found in the eastern half of New York State.
The New York River Otter Project helped bring river otter back to Western New York, with the help of volunteers and DEC staff. From 1995 through 2000, 279 river otter were captured in Eastern New York and released at 16 different sites across the western part of the state.
When and Where to See Otters:
- Otters are active year-round. They spend most of their time in the water, so look in or along the shores of ponds, lakes, and rivers.
- A good place to look for otters is at Mongaup Valley Wildlife Management Area in Sullivan and Orange counties.
Read about the lifecycle of river otters.
Photo of a river otter by Tim O’Toole.
are there otter in erie county now ???
Yes they are here!
I took a video and pictures of a River Otter in my Pond in East Amherst NY on Saturday July 16th 2022 at around 12:40 pm.
I sent the videos and pics to the NYS DEC and they messaged me that indeed it was a River Otter.
Here about a half mile from the. Allegheny River in Portville NY, a river Otter ran across my back yard. I thought what on earth was that. It looked bigger than a weasel. It was indeed a river otter. What a surprise!
I’m going to say no, I did get into an argument with a couple of idiots on Facebook they both had pictures the one turned out to be an oversized mink once he finally came forward with the pictures the other guy really pissed me off because he said the picture was taken in Buffalo and it was a river otter and I said at the Buffalo Zoo yes anyplace else no!
Well it turned out he lied his picture was from the Adirondacks and was he embarrassed when he got caught needless to say I haven’t seen anything posted by him in a long time, so until I see proof with a landmark in the background or a DEC Agent tells me otherwise it’s all bullshit from idiots, I would believe a Rattlesnake before anything else because I’ve actually seen them and they are a protected species both varieties.
My husband and I (and a neighbor) have seen a River otter in Silver Creek, first sighting in April of 2011. My husband and I both had one, last week, in our backyard (we live right on the lake a block away from Walnut Creek and Silver Creek, which is the direction it was, the 1st couple sightings swimming to, as well as the last sighting running through our yard. I also have a couple videos of it swimming. One at the mouth of Walnut/Silver Creek with a fish in it’s mouth.
My husband and I just found one swimming in our pool in Kenmore, NY. It kept running on the solar cover and going back in the water. We we shut the screen door it got scared and climbed out and ran across the yard. We know it was an otter because we see them all the time in our pond in Florida. August 5. 2022
My dog was just in a real head banger of fight with a River Otter. I think everyone involved was tore up pretty good but both survived. I managed to get my dog off it before she killed it but my response was slowed by me thinking she only had another woodchuck, and judging by how bad my dog got it others might wanna keep an eye on their own dogs when near creeks/rivers. We live about a mile down stream from the Caledonia Fish Hatchery on the O-at-ka Creek.
Dec. 23, 2022. Two otters swam across my pond, climbed out & traveled along shore long enough for id. Incredible. Pond is aerated so it is open all winter & stocked. Located in Town of Wilson, NY on Rt. 425 north of Rt 93. 12 Mile creek runs near pond.
I just saw an otter swimming off the Dunkirk Pier around 9pm. It was definitely an otter, as I have seen them before in Alaska. It was large, dark colored swimming with the choppy current. I tried to jump out of the truck to get a picture but it swam too far off the peir edge to get a good photo.
I seen an otter today at Durand Eastman Park in Rochester NY. At first I thought it was a small (thin) beaver, but when it went under its tail went up and sure enough, otter.
I spotted a river otter in Isaac Gordon Part, Pittsford New YORK. early this morning