Once Locally Extinct, ‘Top Predator’ River Otter Flourishing Again in New Mexico

December 4, 2024 journo

A river otter the moment it was released into the Rio Grande – Credit J.N. Stuart, CC 2.0.

Conservationists in New Mexico are celebrating the state’s expanding population of wild river otters, as their numbers have tripled in the last 14 years.

Though native to the state, the beasts were extirpated completely during the 1900s, likely due to a mixture of overtrapping and habitat destruction.

However, groups can now be seen swimming about in waterways located in communities like Taos, Angel Fire, Pilar, and Corrales along the Rio Grande, and there’s every chance this expansion will continue.

“In 2008 to 2010, the department released 33 otters, and those reintroduction efforts took otters from Washington and brought them into the upper Rio Grande,” said Carnivore and Small Mammal Program Manager for the New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish Nick Forman to KRQE News 13.

A 2018 study showed that this initial population has expanded to 100 individuals, complemented more recently when the department released another 9 otters from Louisiana to aid genetic diversity.

Ecologists say they help riverine ecosystems by keeping prey species in check and improving water quality.

“They provide that ecosystem service of being a top predator,” Forman added. “It’s good to have this species back in the role it’s always played in our rivers and lakes.”

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The department now is asking members of the public to send them any photos or videos of otters in the wild they take, hoping to use citizen science to better map their distribution around the state whilst conservationists mull over whether to continue with future release efforts.

WATCH the story from KRQE…

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