River Otter

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Brenda
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Back in '95, the DEC began a program to restore River Otter populations in a number of areas throughout central NY. I was quite active with the program during the late 90's, and I had the opportunity to assist with care and feeding of several of the otters during their quarantine periods, prior to relocation. It would be interesting to hear if folks have had any sightings in any of these areas:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/9368.html
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Matt
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My wife would be jealous. She loves otters. I wonder how well that program worked. She would love to go otter spotting. Oh I see there may be some in Monroe county at Black creek.... in my area
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Matt
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Seen a river otter lately in CNY? Call the DEC
ention river otters and DEC wildlife biologists start using words like “charismatic, sleek, playful, fast — a real treasure to see out in the wild.”
Ask how many are currently out there — specifically, among the 279 otters stocked in a well-publicized public/private effort between 1995 and 2000 in Central and Western New York — and the words are less specific.
“Well, there’s more out there now than we let go. Beyond that, I don’t know,” said Scott Smith, a senior wildlife biologist, currently working out of the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Bath office. He worked in the Catskills during the early going of the project in the mid-1990s when the otters were “live-trapped” there (along with the Adirondacks) for relocation.
More of the article here
http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2009/ ... _in_c.html
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hobkyl
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Not so recent, but last year we were camping in Bainbridge NY and watched 2 otters swimming up the Chenago River around sunset.
“There’s an inconsequentiality to our lives that living in the wilderness shows up. Mountain are real, they set their limits, they set ours. They expose us, make us vulnerable and strong at the same time. “
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Brenda
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You know, I had forgotten that Dennis Money was a part of that project too. He's now the driving force behind the effort to preserve the white deer at the former Seneca Army Depot.

The first winter after the releases at Montezuma, I volunteered with a bunch of other folks to go out looking for otter signs throughout the NWR one weekend. It was a blast. I'm sure that there would be a great deal of interest if they were to organize another outing like that. Heck, I'd love to do it again.
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RickyMac22
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hobkyl wrote:Not so recent, but last year we were camping in Bainbridge NY and watched 2 otters swimming up the Chenago River around sunset.
Not to be nitpicky but the Chenango River doesnt run through Bainbridge, the Susquehanna does.
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