“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.
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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.”
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.”
-via Good News Network, December 4, 2024
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Extra details from KRQE:
“A 2018 study showed the population grew from 33 to 100 river otters statewide. More recently, the department released nine otters from Louisiana which they hope will bring genetic diversity to the current population and help the species make a comeback. “They provide that ecosystem service of being a top predator. To have them back on the landscape after being gone for so long, it’s really bringing back that native part of the landscape,” said Forman.”
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