River otters are making a comeback in at least one corner of Prince Edward Island, according to a recent journal article, and as a result measures are now being taken to protect the popular, water-loving mammal.
The Kensington North Watersheds Association started tracking river otters with trail cameras in late 2019.
They began monitoring Morrisons Pond in Darnley, after a juvenile otter was found dead nearby, suggesting there may have been others in the area.
The first river otter was captured on the association’s trail camera just a few weeks later.
According to Nature P.E.I., in the past Prince Edward Island once had a thriving population of North American river otters, also known by its scientific name, Lontra canadensis, or kiwink in Mi’kmaq.
However, due to hunting and habitat loss, the species were presumed extirpated on the Island since the early 1900s, meaning they became extinct locally, but not elsewhere.
Since that time, occasional anecdotal reports surfaced of otter tracks and sightings on P.E.I. But it wasn’t until 2016 when an adult male otter was captured in a beaver trap. Seven others have since been collected in beaver catches, according to a report published Jan. 15 in The Canadian Field-Naturalist journal.
