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Conservationists are celebrating after a North American river otter was sighted recently along the San Mateo coast for the first time in more than 100 years.
The otter was photographed by wildlife cameras within a closed area of the Cloverdale Ranch Open Space Preserve in Pescadero in July, August and September.
The cameras were set up to photograph other animals, such as foxes, so it was a welcome surprise when a river otter made an appearance, according to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.
“Checking wildlife cameras can be like Christmas, but river otters haven’t been known to occur on the San Mateo Coast since the 1800s,” said Ken Hickman, an independent researcher and Midpen partner. “I knew Midpen and State Parks biologists would be as surprised and interested as I was to see the photos.”
The river otter species Lontra canadensis once ranged along the west coast of North America, from Alaska down to Santa Barbara County, but the 19th-century fur trade and pollution decimated their populations.
There has been a resurgence of the otters north of the Golden Gate and some appearances in the San Francisco Bay wetlands, but virtually no sightings along the Pacific Coast.
Because river otters thrive in clean water with abundant food supplies, the sighting has ecological significance, according to Midpen officials.
“River otters can serve as vital bioindicators,” said Midpen biologist Matt Sharp Chaney. “Their presence in Cloverdale Ranch Preserve and the reclamation of their historic range offers evidence of the species’ recovery post-fur trade in protected resilient landscapes that also support coho salmon and steelhead trout.”
Representatives of the River Otter Ecology Project were also celebrating the sighting.
“This discovery suggests that what we have long expected is happening: river otters are making their way to excellent habitat along the San Mateo coast,” said Megan Isadore, executive director of River Otter Ecology Project.
“It reminds us that people have the knowledge and ability to protect and restore the habitats that allow river otters, and many other species, to recover,” Isadore said. “We must continue to support that recovery.”
The River Otter Ecology Project encourages the public to submit river otter observations to Otter Spotter, its community science observations platform at https://riverotterecology.org/become-an-otter-spotter/.
