a zookeeper dropped a frozen clam into the pool, waiting patiently as the family of four swam over. this was no ordinary family, but a group of north american river otters, made up of a mother and her three babies. the father is not involved in the rearing of these youths, and may be sent to breed with the denizens of other zoos if he and the mother do not get along well when their children are grown.

“i was always passionate about animals, and once i started working with otters that transferred over, it took on a life of its own” said david hamilton, general curator at seneca park zoo and species survival plan coordinator. “i became the otter guy”.

overcoming historical challenges

as we watched the otters playing in their pool, we were discussing the importance of transferring these otters between zoos to breed in larger otter conservation efforts. north american river otters are an indicator species, meaning that if their population declines in their natural ranges, it signifies broader issues in that ecosystem. thus, the local extinction of the species in western new york for nearly 60 years was a major influence in provoking programs to examine waterways in the area and to begin their clean-up.

hamilton, who organizes the placement of otters in different facilities and closely monitors the otter populations in monroe county through the zoo, explains the historical origins of this issue. “it started off that there weren’t any checks on trapping,” he said. “that was bad news in the early 1800s and 1900s, with the fur trade.”

however, exploitation by the fashion industry was not the only plague that industrialization brought to river otter populations in the region. companies like kodak, which is headquartered in rochester, new york, have generated immense toxic waste which, according to studies by houghton college, have continued to poison local waters and food webs. furthermore, urban sprawl has continued to cause deforestation, shrinking the range available to otters. thus, it is no surprise that their populations almost completely disappeared, either dying out or migrating to the adirondacks and catskills.

“otters don’t follow that kind of migration pattern,” hamilton said. “and they’re one of the main predators of those non-game fish. so when they leave like that, it’s like the wolves of yellowstone – the fish populations blow up, and the ecosystems can’t take it.”

a comeback story unlike any otter

beginning in the 1990s, the new york state department of environmental conservation launched a project working with zoos like seneca park to return otters back to western new york. as a matter of fact, similar methods were being used across the country as otters were reintroduced to clean waterways.

most regions did not have as local a source of otters as western new york did, so many conservation efforts had to bring individuals from farther areas with particularly large and dense populations, such as louisiana. these were employed gradually so that their fitness could be surveyed in new and unfamiliar regions, safely transferred to farther regions like new england and the west coast. however, such movements presented a major problem. 

to solve the issue of population loss, programs needed more research about the causes of otters’ disappearances.  “we looked up the information about river otters and saw that there was a huge data gap,” said megan isadore, co-founder and director of the nonprofit organization the river otter ecology project.

the river otter ecology project was formed in marin county, california, around 2012, in the midst of these government-funded transfer programs. isadore, an enthusiastic and self-taught watershed ecologist, realized that although these programs were based in sound theory, there was very little accurate monitoring going on in california. however, she knew firsthand that anyone could easily become infatuated enough with otters to help without a scientific background, and so developed a solution.

“community science is really exciting to people because anyone can be a scientist,” she said of her organization’s “otter spotter” program. “we help people to understand that science is not just for eggheads sitting at their computers; it’s for all of us out there noticing what’s going on.”

over the last 13 years, using mapping technology and surveying, the project has gathered a remarkable amount of data from people who have reported sightings of otters in the marin county through their otter spotter program.

seeing that populations were truly on the rise, this monitoring began to spread further around the san francisco area, where the new data could inform policy and regulation that has continued to protect the species and clean the waterways.

now, the river otter ecology project is working with several grassroots nonprofits across the country to develop similar maps of otter populations, highlighting the areas that still need further attention – an undertaking made possible by the efforts of local communities collaborating with researchers out of the love for the otters.

the seneca park zoo has borrowed these methods, using similar technology and community reporting to check on the health and population of the otters of western new york. today, this research is focused on whether or not the otters still need intervention; and the outcomes, so far, are very promising.

“i’m monitoring to see whether these populations are sustainable now,” hamilton said. 

as they do, they will continue to help otter populations grow by nurturing their families at zoos across   the nation.