River Otters - The Wolves of the Water

Maxx Harvey
·1 min read

Fishermen say that seeing an otter is a sign of good luck. They are not that far off, as it is a sign of a good, clean waterway. American River Otters, or Lontra canadensis, will eat anything from fish to mollusks and crabs. They have even been known to eat an occasional egg, bird, rodent, reptile or amphibian.

Otters have a long history here in Western North Carolina. In the 1500s, otters were plentiful and prized for their thick, waterproof pelts used to make a wide range of products. Lack of regulations led to these creatures being over-hunted and their waterways polluted, causing the species to be virtually extinct by the early 1900s.

River otters were once on the brink of extinction in North Carolina due to habitat loss, water pollution, and trapping. From 1990 to 1995, 49 river otters were released in Western North Carolina to try to grow the population, and most otters we see today in this area are their descendants.

Thanks to these conservation efforts, wild otters can now be found swimming in the Swannanoa River that runs alongside the WNC Nature Center. You can also visit Obi-Wan and Olive, the river otters who live at the WNC Nature Center. There’s an otter feeding and education program almost every morning around 11:30 a.m. You can see them slide and swim while catching their favorite food!

Fun Facts:

  • American River Otters are apex predators, meaning they are at the top of the food chain. That’s why they have the nickname “Wolves of the Water.”

  • River otters have thick fur coats that are water repellant. In fact, they have between 600,000 and 1 million hair follicles in one square inch of fur!

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: River Otters - The Wolves of the Water