They are often solitary, but will engage in playful behavior when with others, sliding down riverbanks on their bellies, and somersaulting through the water. Otters will create what are called "latrine" sites, scraping the ground clean, and building a mound near a prominent landscape feature, such as a large tree. Marking the mound with "spraint" (feces) and musk, otters will use this area for preening, playing, and scenting. These mounds in turn, help conservationists locate and survey otter populations in the state. Rhode Island does right by its otters - it is illegal to take or kill an otter. It is the only state in the Northeast that does not have a trapping season, which makes the chance of seeing one of these beauties all the more likely. And like me, I hope you will be otterly amazed.
Rhode Island has not disappointed in terms of nature sightings during my holiday visit. I've seen owls, mergansers, red-tail hawks, seals, great blue heron, and yes, even the elusive river otter, Lontra canadensis. I was fortunate enough to spot one many years back, crossing the road with four young, and even as I watched the mom and babies lope hurriedly to the other side, I knew how lucky I was to witness this rare event. While otters have always been present in Rhode Island, their numbers are up due to improvements in water quality as well as an increase in the beaver population, whose activities create more wetland habitats for the otters. This time, I scared one from its hunting spot next to a salt pond. As it scampered on the thin ice along the bank, I realized what a perfect otter habitat this place was, with lots of dense vegetation along the pond providing protection, plenty of food, including fish, mollusks, and crustaceans, and ample places for a burrow. Though they are called river otters, they haunt brackish and saltwater habitats as well as fresh. Members of the weasel family, Mustelidae, they are kin of mink and fishers, other furbearers found in Rhode Island. All possess anal musk glands and use them to communicate and mark territory. They are supremely adapted to the water, with webbed feet, a long streamlined body and tail, and whiskers, (called vibrissae) that help them locate prey underwater. A layer of fat just below the skin and dense fur keep them insulated through the winter - river otter do not hibernate.
They are often solitary, but will engage in playful behavior when with others, sliding down riverbanks on their bellies, and somersaulting through the water. Otters will create what are called "latrine" sites, scraping the ground clean, and building a mound near a prominent landscape feature, such as a large tree. Marking the mound with "spraint" (feces) and musk, otters will use this area for preening, playing, and scenting. These mounds in turn, help conservationists locate and survey otter populations in the state. Rhode Island does right by its otters - it is illegal to take or kill an otter. It is the only state in the Northeast that does not have a trapping season, which makes the chance of seeing one of these beauties all the more likely. And like me, I hope you will be otterly amazed.
2 Comments
Taek
6/20/2014 07:12:08 am
i just love this website
Reply
Kayla
6/20/2014 07:14:55 am
These river otters are so cute and awesome.
Reply
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