First Record of a River Otter, Lontra canadensis, Captured on the Northeastern Coast of Alaska

• Published in: The Canadian Field-Naturalist
• Main Author: Haskell, Shawn P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 2006
• Subjects: River Otter; Beaufort Sea; Lontra canadensis; fyke net; distribution; Alaska; Brooks Range; north slope; Lontra
• Online Access: https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/294; https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v120i2.294

A River Otter (Lontra canadensis) was captured on the Beaufort Sea coast of northeastern Alaska during a coastal fish study in late July 2001. The otter was dead upon retrieval and of adult size. River Otter distribution is not known to extend north of Alaska’s Brooks Range. This occurrence may have represented a one-time spring dispersal event. However, fluviomorphological features of some river systems may provide suitable habitat for an overwintering otter in this region of Alaska’s North Slope.