Otters in the News

Making an executive decision, Otter Joy is no longer going to report news encouraging sport otter trapping. 22/02/05
And any culture that thinks it’s OK to reintroduce a species so they can kill it for fun and profit later on is beneath contempt.

• 15/05/13: Surrey: Otters breed in Surrey 'for first time in 40 years'
• 14/05/13: Devon: That sure is a lotta otter...
  [Otter Joy: That is a very, very fat otter ... he needs a POC training regime]
• 13/05/13: California: River otters are making a comeback in the Bay Area
• 12/05/13: Norfolk: The pike was huge, but not huge enough to fight off an otter
• 10/05/13: Oregon: Tilly, the zoo's river otter, is this year's 'Mother of the Year'
• 10/05/13: United Kingdom: The otter: return of the elusive movie star
• 09/05/13: Somerset: A walk on the wild side right outside your door
• 09/05/13: California: Three New Otter Pups on Exhibit at Oakland Zoo
• 08/05/13: Colorado: Boulder pond rehab work on hold -- otter, or no otter
• 07/05/13: California: Aquarium of the Bay Announces New North American River Otter Exhibit
• 30/04/13: Washington: ‘Otterly’ Aquatic
• 30/04/13: Washington: Oak Harbor marina otters won’t be trapped, just annoyed
• 29/04/13: Malaysia: Otter jumps in car and refuses to leave
  [Otter Joy: This is plainly a tame Asian Small-Clawed otter - they were at a wildlife sanctuary apparently.]
• 29/04/13: Kansas: New baby otters make debut at Lee Richardson Zoo
• 25/04/13: Washington: See An Adorable Otter Get Released Back Into the Wild By PAWS
• 19/04/13: Scotland: ‘Gutted’ Dundee fish owner blames otter for pet’s death
  [Otter Joy: 16 koi in that tiny pond? Either the fish were tiny or they were desperately overcrowded. My neighbour's cat took all of my fish out of a pond twice the size of that one! But blaming otters is sooooo fashionable and so much easier and cheaper than keeping fish responsibly]
• 19/04/13: Alaska: Draft Southeast Sea Otter Population Assessment Out
• 18/04/13: Alaska: Sea otter transporter changes plea, sentenced
• 16/04/13: Suffolk: The rise of the otter
• 16/04/13: Scotland: Glazier offers help to ravaged zoo
• 15/04/13: Scotland: Zoo donations boost after blaze
• 15/04/13: Scotland: Heartbroken keeper tells of desperate bid to save animals during horror blaze at Scottish zoo
  [Otter Joy: Poor little otters! If they had had an outside enclosure to run to, they might have escaped to safety
• 15/04/13: Pennsylvania: Wildlife DNA lab receives $18K grant to research river otters
• 14/04/13: Scotland: Fire fund set up after meerkats, otter and other animals die in blaze at family-run Scottish zoo
• 12/04/13: Pennsylvania: Penn State student uses a non-invasive technique to obtain DNA samples from elusive river otters in the area
• 12/04/13: USA: New Diseases, Toxins Harming Marine Life
• 11/04/13: Massachusetts: Skunknett’s pocket wilderness: Otters and fishers
• 10/04/13: Surrey: Tilgate Nature Centre otter chooses its own name
• 09/04/13: Alaska: Senators debate otter bounty legality
  [Otter Joy: And Americans are surprised the Europeans don't think of them as world leaders ... ]
• 07/04/13: Florida: Otters seen in downtown Orlando lake
• 07/04/13: Oregon: Mom uses tough-love for baby otter’s swimming lessons
• 05/04/13: Washington: Director of fishes: Best option for river otters in Oak Harbor is relocation
  [Otter Joy: Or apparently killing them. You invade otter habitat, and destroy and degrade it and lo and behold the animals congregate in the bit that's left - but you want that too! Inconvenient for you - life or death for them.]
• 05/04/13: California: Boaters Urged to Go Slow for Sea Otters
• 05/04/13: Washington: Seattle Aquarium event celebrates affectionate sea otters
• 04/04/13: Canada: Now is the best time for seeing River Otters
• 04/04/13: Oregon: Oregon Zoo's Baby River Otter 'Mo' Getting Swimming Lessons
• 04/04/13: Washington: Oak Harbor mulling whether to kill pesky otters
  [Otter Joy: Yes, they are ANIMALS not mechanical Disney automata]
• 04/04/13: Colorado: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo says Boulder otter likely isn't their missing Kitchi
• 03/04/13: Darlington: Has tide turned against otters?
  [Otter Joy: the UK press seems to have decided to turn public opinion against otters which is very odd given that the public are not playing along. A powerful and wealthy lobby exercising its ability to influence the press perhaps? It's very peculiar and flies in the face of public opinion....]
• 02/04/13: Colorado: Boulder confirms first North American river otter sighting in a century
• 01/04/13: Montana: ZooMontana welcomes two baby otters to the family
• 01/04/13: Alaska: How does kelp complicate the sea otter equation?
• 31/03/13: Norfolk: Paparazzi reception for an elusive star of the natural world – the otter
• 27/03/13: Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University boat club plans would have "tragic" impact on otters
• 27/03/13: West Midlands: Canal and River Trust to help otters in West Midlands
• 26/03/13: California: Otter research money in peril
• 25/03/13: Suffolk: Otters simply looking for easy dinner
• 23/03/13: California: Fresno zoo's new African Otter exhibit
• 22/03/13: California: Sea lion finds refuge on kayak after Moss Landing otter attack
• 22/03/13: Wales: Millennium Coastal Park: Toad deaths blamed on otters
• 22/03/13: Canada: Vancouver Aquarium takes in rescued baby otter
• 21/03/13: Staffordshire: Volunteers repair Otter holt in Wolesey Bridge
• 20/03/13: Alaska: Sea otters not to blame for shellfish decline
• 19/03/13: New York: Naming Contest for 4 Newborn Otters to the Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center
• 19/03/13: California: Otters move into their new aquarium home
• 17/03/13: Teeside: Otters have devastated our fish stock, say Teesside anglers
  [Otter Joy: Be sure to read the comments - public opinion, as in so many of these newspaper reports, is definitely on the side of the otters!]
• 15/03/13: Oregon: Meet Mo, Oregon Zoo's river otter pup
• 14/03/13: Massachusetts: On the Hunt for Elusive Island Otters
• 14/03/13: Cambridgeshire: Numbers up for predators
• 13/03/13: Scotland: SSPCA rescue orphaned otter cub from Carluke garden
• 13/03/13: Alaska: Assembly covers SEAPA, sea otter bounty
  [Otter Joy: And soon sea otters in Alaska will be back on the endangered list, and there will be a lot of very rich Alaskans]
• 13/03/13: Sussex: Animal Antics - Tilgate Nature Centre: Name that otter!
• 12/03/13: California: Hey, no junk food for you! Mother otter snatches cookie packet away from its offspring
• 12/03/13: California: Pupping season begins in Monterey Bay
• 10/03/13: California: Celebrity otter immortalized in children’s book
• 07/03/13: California: Sutro Sam the river otter leaves Sutro Baths home in SF
• 06/03/13: Lancashire: Otters steal the show at Meningitis Trust Family Day
• 06/03/13: Oregon: Oregon Coast Aquarium sea otter that made medical history dies in Newport
• 06/03/13: Canada: You otter see this: Vancouver Aquarium upgrades webcams
• 06/03/13: New Hampshire: Signs show otters among us
• 05/03/13: Oregon: Two otters have new home at Bend museum
• 05/03/13: Arizona: Otter at Reid Park Zoo dies, its cause of death unknown
• 28/02/13: Wales: Fish farmer Brian Dobson loses High Court compensation case
  [Otter Joy: Note the Judge's comment "the agency did not have a duty of care to inform Mr Dobson that there were otters in the area and it was up to him to find that out for himself."]
• 28/02/13: Japan: Otter cub is newest star at Japanese aquarium
• 25/02/13: Wales: Environment Agency sued over carp-eating otters
  [Otter Joy: He set up an unfenced fish farm in an otter stronghold, an area where otters never declined and then was shocked that they ate his fish ....]
• 24/02/13: United Kingdom: Chemicals linked to problems with otters' penis bones
• 24/02/13: United Kingdom: Chemicals linked to problems with otters' penis bones
• 22/02/13: Alaska: University hosts sea otter symposium
• 21/02/13: California: Fresno Chaffee Zoo otter exhibit to open in March
  [Otter Joy: Spotted-Necked Otters, for a change]
• 21/02/13: Alaska: Alaska state senator proposes bounty on sea otters
  [Otter Joy: i.e. kill the otters to keep the dollars]
• 20/02/13: Japan: Sightings soar of supposedly extinct Japanese otter
• 19/02/13: Oregon: Oregon Zoo sea otter stays fit by shooting hoops (video)
• 19/02/13: New York: Baby Otters Born At Aquarium
• 11/02/13: California: River otter's rising popularity putting him at risk
• 10/02/13: Guyana: Giant River Otter In The Rainforest
• 08/02/13: Scotland: Separate otter and badger tunnels under Forth Bridge roads to stop the fur flying
• 08/02/13: Surrey: Adopt animal for your valentine, says charity
• 07/02/13: Texas: Otter Sighting in Freestone County
• 03/02/13: Missouri: The ever-curious river otter
• 02/02/13: California: Veterinarian Melissa Miller runs a sea otter CSI at UCSC's Long Marine Lab
• 02/02/13: California: Help Save California's Endangered Species at Tax Time!
• 02/02/13: Norfolk: Killer otter devastates Thetford couple after killing scores of their prize fish
  [Otter Joy: Read the comments below - lots of sensible points made.  Looks like the UK press have decided to demonise otters for being animals, but the public appear to be on the otter's side - if it was an otter.  Koi are worth a lot of money and there is certainly a trade in stolen fish]
• 01/02/13: Tyne & Wear: Otters aid Sunderland’s success in tourism “Oscars”.
• 31/01/13: California: Otter Project lawsuit against state regulators takes question of ag pollution to the courts.
• 30/01/13: Scotland: Hawick otter "like the local dog"
• 29/01/13: Taiwan: Otter found on Kinmen
• 26/01/13: Alaska: Four face charges related to illegal sea otter parts
• 26/01/13: Ireland: Where otters dare, all is right with the natural world
• 25/01/13: Durham: Otter project in North-East coming to an end
• 24/01/13: Kent: Our otters love skating across frozen ponds
• 23/01/13: California: Sea Otters May Return to Southern California
• 23/01/13: California: How volunteer became a real-life otter pop
• 23/01/13: Canada: Sea otter biologist gives special SSIC presentation on 1st Feb
• 22/01/13: Thailand: Parks officials seize 11 otters at airport
  [Otter Joy: Eleven baby otters were stuffed into a suitcase and appear to have been intended for the illegal pet trade in Japan. Dead baby otters are often found in the rubbish bins at Japanese airports where they obviously did not survive the flight. This is a heinous trade.]
• 22/01/13: Alaska: Local man pleads guilty to illegal otter kill
• 21/01/13: Washington: New Asian otter arrives at Woodland Park Zoo
• 20/01/13: Scotland: Ada the otter is thriving at last
• 20/01/13: United Kingdom: Sad to see the tide turn against the otter
  [Otter Joy: Be sure to read the comments especially SteB1 who posts several times to give the facts, with references you can follow up, to counteract the mistakes in the main article which seem to be based on the religious mania of some anglers who worship large carp and are determined to destroy every living thing that gets in the way of their fun]
• 19/01/13: Netherlands: Otter arrives in Flevoland
• 18/01/13: Georgia: Otter doesn’t care who wins NFC Championship Game, just likes playing with football (video)
• 18/01/13: United Kingdom: Photographer’s Journal: Up Close and Personal with British Otters
• 18/01/13: Alaska: Haida hunter gets fine, home confinement
• 17/01/13: Gwynedd: Fishery owner suing Environment Agency after otters put him out of business
  [Otter Joy: Bear in mind that this is an area of the UK where otters never declined in numbers - so no "extra" otters are present. Perhaps a better fence? After all if you open a Porsche dealership, it's usual to not just leave your stock on the streets with the keys in the ignition ....]
• 16/01/13: Washington: World's smallest otter species arrives at Zoo
• 16/01/13: Cambridge: Otter numbers up but more killed on roads
• 16/01/13: Scotland: Calvert Marine Museum Hosting “Otter Day” 21st January
• 15/01/13: Scotland: Tiny otter cub recovering after being found close to death in car park
• 14/01/13: Northumberland: Santa brings an unusual gift to vets
• 13/01/13: Durham: Recruits needed for Durham Wildlife Trust otter survey
• 12/01/13: Norfolk: Fenland farm builds third otter holt
• 12/01/13: California: Gender Of Famous Sea Otter's Baby Revealed
• 04/01/13: California: Why Are There Otters in Danville?
• 03/01/13: California: Marin Group Says ‘Sutro Sam’ the River Otter Making San Francisco His Home
• 03/01/13: Derbyshire: Otterly adorable! Baby otters orphaned in the recent floods now right as rain after being rescued by animal sanctuary
• 02/01/13: Alaska: Study: Otters eating urchins reduces greenhouse gas