River otter sightings increase at Presque Isle State Park as pair makes peninsula home

You can see an Erie Otter on ice during hockey season and the Erie Zoo recently unveiled its updated otter exhibit . But it could be a little harder to spot one of the carnivorous mammals at Presque Isle State Park , although it has been done.

Ray Bierbower, an environmental education specialist at Presque Isle, said visitors have reported seeing otters on the peninsula. It was less than three years ago that environmental education specialists were officially able to document American river otters at the park, when they were recorded Dec. 31, 2022, by an unmanned trail camera. Park staff had been seeing signs of otters for a few years before that.

After the first recording, one of Bierbower's co-workers saw an otter run across a park trail while leading a winter hike and an intern spotted an otter swimming last summer in Misery Bay. Bierbower said park visitors have said they saw otters swimming in the lagoons but those reports weren't confirmed. He has yet to see one live at the park himself but has continued to observe them via trail cameras.

A January 2023 video recorded what was believed to be a mother and her two offspring. The latest video, in March of this year, showed a mom and four new babies, Bierbower said. What is believed to be a lone male has also shown up on cameras this year.

"I think it is safe to say we have an established pair on the peninsula at this time," Bierbower said.

The otters are usually captured on camera between December and March and tend not to show up during the months that attract more humans, he said.

"I think they go deeper into the park and hide out," Bierbower said of the otters.

Where did the otters come from?

Staff don't know where the otters came from, Bierbower said, although there are some known to be along Conneaut Creek and they can travel long distances. The ones now at Presque Isle weren't part of Pennsylvania otter restoration efforts in recent decades.

However they arrived, they are part of Presque Isle's ecosystem now and can help strengthen it, Bierbower said. They can kill a beaver and destroy a goose nest, which Bierbower previously said could help control those populations at the state park. Otters eat fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fruits and berries so there shouldn't be a shortage of food for them.

He did advise that although viewed as cute, otters should be watched from a distance.

"Do not try to approach them," Bierbower said. "They can fight pretty well."

Dana Massing can be reached at dmassing@timesnews.com .

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: River otter sightings increase at Presque Isle State Park as pair makes peninsula home