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12-10-2004, 01:26 PM
Article published Sunday, December 5, 2004
Otters everywhere
Even Maumee watershed has its population
River otters, sort of super-size mink that once disappeared from Ohio, have been almost too successful since their reintroduction 18 years ago.
As a result the Ohio Division of Wildlife quietly has begun to test the public waters about establishing a limited trapping season to control otter numbers where their growing numbers soon may be troublesome.
River otters, once common, had been exterminated in Ohio but have been so prolific since their reintroduction, the state is considering a trapping season, possibly as early as next year.
( THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON )
Complaints already are starting to filter in to wildlife headquarters about otter damage on farm ponds and some private and public fish hatcheries in some areas, for example.
"They have expanded their range to nearly two-thirds of the watersheds in Ohio,'' said John Daugherty, manager of Ohio Wildlife District 2 at Findlay. "The original goal [in reintroduction] was to establish a minimum viable population. They needed to be put back here and they've done very, very well.''
Indeed, otters now are found even in the Maumee River watershed, far from eastern Ohio, though Daugherty said that these animals may represent expanded populations from Indiana or Michigan. Road-killed otter also have been confirmed near Magee Marsh State Wildlife Area in western Ottawa County.
In any case, it has become clear that otters can move great distances. Figuratively they have come a long way from the startup pairs that were trapped in Arkansas and Louisiana and transplanted here.
Their appearance is possible almost anywhere now. "The fact is, river otters are getting to be abundant, the [restoration] effort bordering on too successful,'' Daughtery added.
Otters, once common along rivers, streams, lakes and ponds, started to fade from the scene here in the late 1800s and early 1900s with the loss and destruction of wild habitats for dens and food.
They are superb swimmers and feed primarily on fish, frogs, and crayfish, and to a lesser extent on turtles, mussels, snakes, muskrats and waterfowl. They grow to nearly four feet, nose to tail, and weigh up to 35 pounds in some states, though Ohio otters generally weigh 20 to 25 pounds. Males are slightly larger than females. Otters may live 10 to 15 years in the wild. They have no natural predators.
The restoration program was part of a long-term state wildlife policy to re-establish native species that also have disappeared. The trumpeter swan, osprey and snowshoe hare restoration projects under way around the state are other examples.
Daugherty said that otters have become most abundant in the same habitats as beavers. There are a few of those big-toothed, flat-tailed creatures in northwest Ohio now, too, though not many. However, beavers annually are trapped in much of the southern half and northeast quarter of the state.
In any case, state wildlife managers are beginning to follow a regular, cautious process toward establishing a limited otter trapping season, possibly by 2005-2006, when the statewide population may be as high as 5,400 and growing.
"It probably will be regional,'' Daugherty said, "[but] not in northwest Ohio for now.''
The state wildlife division is seeking advice from wildlife managers in other states with more mature otter populations in tailoring possible seasons, limits and other regulations, which have yet to be fleshed out.
Twenty-one other states have conducted similar river otter restoration programs, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. Michigan has maintained a native population and a regulated trapping season, in the norther lower peninsula and upper peninsula.
In all 29 states allow regulated otter trapping.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Pollick is The Blade's outdoor writer
» E-mail him at spollick@theblade.com
» Read more Steve Pollick columns at www.toledoblade.com/pollick
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041205/COLUMNIST22/412050424
Otters everywhere
Even Maumee watershed has its population
River otters, sort of super-size mink that once disappeared from Ohio, have been almost too successful since their reintroduction 18 years ago.
As a result the Ohio Division of Wildlife quietly has begun to test the public waters about establishing a limited trapping season to control otter numbers where their growing numbers soon may be troublesome.
River otters, once common, had been exterminated in Ohio but have been so prolific since their reintroduction, the state is considering a trapping season, possibly as early as next year.
( THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON )
Complaints already are starting to filter in to wildlife headquarters about otter damage on farm ponds and some private and public fish hatcheries in some areas, for example.
"They have expanded their range to nearly two-thirds of the watersheds in Ohio,'' said John Daugherty, manager of Ohio Wildlife District 2 at Findlay. "The original goal [in reintroduction] was to establish a minimum viable population. They needed to be put back here and they've done very, very well.''
Indeed, otters now are found even in the Maumee River watershed, far from eastern Ohio, though Daugherty said that these animals may represent expanded populations from Indiana or Michigan. Road-killed otter also have been confirmed near Magee Marsh State Wildlife Area in western Ottawa County.
In any case, it has become clear that otters can move great distances. Figuratively they have come a long way from the startup pairs that were trapped in Arkansas and Louisiana and transplanted here.
Their appearance is possible almost anywhere now. "The fact is, river otters are getting to be abundant, the [restoration] effort bordering on too successful,'' Daughtery added.
Otters, once common along rivers, streams, lakes and ponds, started to fade from the scene here in the late 1800s and early 1900s with the loss and destruction of wild habitats for dens and food.
They are superb swimmers and feed primarily on fish, frogs, and crayfish, and to a lesser extent on turtles, mussels, snakes, muskrats and waterfowl. They grow to nearly four feet, nose to tail, and weigh up to 35 pounds in some states, though Ohio otters generally weigh 20 to 25 pounds. Males are slightly larger than females. Otters may live 10 to 15 years in the wild. They have no natural predators.
The restoration program was part of a long-term state wildlife policy to re-establish native species that also have disappeared. The trumpeter swan, osprey and snowshoe hare restoration projects under way around the state are other examples.
Daugherty said that otters have become most abundant in the same habitats as beavers. There are a few of those big-toothed, flat-tailed creatures in northwest Ohio now, too, though not many. However, beavers annually are trapped in much of the southern half and northeast quarter of the state.
In any case, state wildlife managers are beginning to follow a regular, cautious process toward establishing a limited otter trapping season, possibly by 2005-2006, when the statewide population may be as high as 5,400 and growing.
"It probably will be regional,'' Daugherty said, "[but] not in northwest Ohio for now.''
The state wildlife division is seeking advice from wildlife managers in other states with more mature otter populations in tailoring possible seasons, limits and other regulations, which have yet to be fleshed out.
Twenty-one other states have conducted similar river otter restoration programs, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. Michigan has maintained a native population and a regulated trapping season, in the norther lower peninsula and upper peninsula.
In all 29 states allow regulated otter trapping.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Pollick is The Blade's outdoor writer
» E-mail him at spollick@theblade.com
» Read more Steve Pollick columns at www.toledoblade.com/pollick
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041205/COLUMNIST22/412050424