IUCN OTTER SPECIALIST GROUP BULLETIN
The river otter, Lutra canadensis, is found only in North America where it is distributed over much of the continent from Florida north to the arctic tundra. In Canada, river otters were present in all major waterways until at least the 18th century (Toweill and Tabor, 1982). During the 1800's...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.623.1937 http://www.otterspecialistgroup.org/Bulletin/Volume1/Stenson_1986b.pdf |
| Summary: | The river otter, Lutra canadensis, is found only in North America where it is distributed over much of the continent from Florida north to the arctic tundra. In Canada, river otters were present in all major waterways until at least the 18th century (Toweill and Tabor, 1982). During the 1800's however, river otters were extirpated from Prince Edward Island and the prairie grasslands areas of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba due to trapping pressure and habitat destruction. Presently, river otters are found in every province and territory in Canada with the exception of Prince Edward Island. Their range is closely related to the distribution of forested regions where they are considered to have moderate to high population levels (Parker,1982). River otters are also abundant along both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts where they have adapted to the coastal marine environment. Population levels are low or absent in some areas however, due to the unfavourable habitat or previous trapping pressures. These areas include the northern tundra- muskeg, Prince Edward Island, southern Ontario, parts of Alberta and the prairie grassland regions. Generally, the present distribution and population levels of river otters appear to be stable throughout Canada (Parker, 1982). |
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