Otters at Point Reyes

 

A river otter swimming at Abbotts Lagoon on April 15, 2022.

Both the North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) and the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) were native to the Point Reyes peninsula before they were extirpated from the area in, respectively, the mid-1900s and early to mid-1800s.

River Otters

The river otter would have been quite common in most inland bodies of water before the arrival of settlers of European descent, but disappeared by 1960 from Point Reyes, "probably due to a combination of trapping, depredation, and the degradation of streams by agricultural diking and grazing." (Evans, J. Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula.) According to naturalist Richard Stallcup, "From 1960 to 1987 River Otters were totally missing in Marin as far as anyone knew."

But, in May of 1987, three river otters were discovered in middle Walker Creek near Tomales. Since then, river otters have expanded their range throughout Marin County and are now quite common.

In Point Reyes National Seashore, river otters have been reported in most significant water bodies and are frequently seen in and along the shores of Tomales Bay, Abbotts Lagoon, and Drakes Estero. The River Otter Ecology Project has an interactive map indicating where river otters have been seen recently, mostly in California, but they now also receive reports from elsewhere in North America. If you see any, feel free to submit a report of your sighting through their Become an Otter Spotter page.

Sea Otters

The sea otter was extensively hunted by Russian fur traders based at Fort Ross and Bodega Bay in the early 1800s. Today's California population of sea otters is believed to be descended from about 50 sea otters that were able to evade capture along the Big Sur coast. Despite the California population increasing to a few thousand by the mid-2010s, very few sea otters have made their way north of the Golden Gate to Point Reyes.

Every now and then, however, sea otters are seen in the waters of Drakes Bay—so keep your eyes open for them if you are visiting Chimney Rock. Beware, though, of misidentifying river otters as sea otters—both can be seen in the waters of Drakes Bay. In general, river otters are more uniformly brown, sometimes with lighter fur on the front of their neck, whereas sea otters often have yellowish fur on their heads.

 

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