Become an Otter Spotter!
River otters were eliminated from the Smokies by the early 1900s due to habitat destruction and uncontrolled trapping for their valuable fur. In 1986, the National Park Service began a reintroduction program, and over the course of 8 years, 137 otters from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Louisiana were trapped and released into various drainages in the Smoky Mountains. Initial monitoring efforts showed that the otters took well to their new homes, but no long-term monitoring program was established.
The otters have quietly lived and reproduced here, protected from trapping and slowly filling their niche as top predators in our mountain streams. Today they are believed to be present in every drainage of the Smokies, but we don’t know how many there are or how they are distributed. That’s where we come in!
Your Role:
As you’re out enjoying the Smokies, post your observations of otters or otter signs (scat and tracks) on our Otter Spotter project page using iNaturalist. If you’re not sure what you saw, be sure to ‘request ID help.’
If you saw an otter but weren’t able to snap a photo, no worries! You can still post an observation describing what you saw. Be sure to indicate an accurate location on the observation map. If you found otter scat or tracks, post a photo!
Over time, you will help us gain a clearer picture of otter distribution in this national park, and identify areas to focus our research efforts.
Join our project today and become an Otter Spotter!
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