In the past century, the pace of river otter population growth has exceeded that of humans in New York City. While human populations have increased by many millions in the state, depending on the source you use, the population of otters (Lontra canadensis) in the Bronx River has increased by 100%. In 1926, there were zero, and now there is one—a recent photo has captured the first shot of a river otter in the Bronx’s waterway for more than a century. “When I first reviewed the images, I could hardly believe what I was seeing,” said R. J. Hawkins, a scientist affiliated with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Bronx Zoo, in a press release. “Knowing this may be the first documented river otter in the Bronx in generations was an incredible moment,” he said. “It shows why long-term wildlife monitoring and environmental restoration efforts matter.” The reappearance of these mustelids speaks to the decades of restoration conservationists have invested into the river, the WCS said.
