CHESTER, Calif. — The pictograph, an ochre-red outline with four paws and an unmistakable paddle of a tail, has been on the reservation “my whole life,” said Kenneth McDarment, a member of the Tule River Tribe. It’s just one of many paintings — of people, geometric designs and other wildlife — from 500 to 1,000 […]
Tag: otters
In Brazil’s Pantanal, too many tourists may be the jaguar’s new predator
PORTO JOFRE, Brazil — When Oscar de Morais isn’t out tracking jaguars, you’ll find him aboard his houseboat moored along the banks of the São Lourenço River. He sits beneath a mosquito net on two stacked blue plastic chairs, watching Brazilian soap operas while a fan blows warm air his way. That is, until someone […]
Otters among UK wildlife carrying toxic ‘forever chemicals’, analysis shows
Dolphins, otters, porpoises, fish and birds across the UK have been found to have toxic “forever chemicals” in their tissue and organs, analysis of official data has revealed. Manmade chemicals called PFAS, known as forever chemicals because they do not degrade, are used in a wide range of consumer products and industrial processes and some […]
Unlikely Friendship in Scotland Captured in New Documentary
National Geographic is set to release a heartwarming documentary exploring the unusual connection between a Shetland resident, Billy Mail, and a wild otter named Molly. Their remarkable story began in 2021 when Mail encountered Molly as a starving pup near his home. He initially expected the young otter to flee, but Molly, desperate for survival, […]
Surrogate otter mom at aquarium is rehabilitating pup ‘better than any human ever can’
Millie, a fatigued mother of an infant, was ready for a nap. So she grabbed her baby, flipped it around, threw it on her belly and started grooming its tail—a soothing behavior. Millie, a sea otter, is rearing what could be the Aquarium of the Pacific’s first orphaned pup to return to the wild. As […]
Sea Otters Helped Minimize Kelp Forest Loss in California, Study Finds
Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California have linked sea otters to healthy kelp forests off the West Coast. According to a new study published in the journal PLOS Climate, the recovery of Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) in central California happened at the same time that kelp forests in the same […]
Camera-traps help identify conservation needs of Thailand’s coastal otters
Otters, with their gleeful yikkering, playful presence and sinuous underwater grace, are emblematic of the joy and resilience of nature in many parts of the world. But they aren’t among the first animals that come to mind when we think of Thailand. Yet several species of the sleek aquatic mammal frolic in Thailand’s watery thoroughfares […]
30 years of Otter Conservation
2023 marks the 30th year of caring for otters worldwide by the International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF). During this time IOSF has supported projects in 91 countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Philippines, Belarus, Chile, Lithuania, Nepal, Benin, Guyana and Costa Rica. In the charity’s own otter hospital over 250 otters have been […]