If a landowner has otter damage occurring during trapping season, their best option is to allow a licensed trapper property access to try to alleviate the damage. River otters can cause damage, especially to small fish ponds or fish hatcheries. Though primarily carnivores, river otters have been documented eating fruit on rare occasions. River otters spend most of their lives in water, which reflects in their diet. Young are born between February–April and can leave the den within eight weeks of birth. The female otter raises the young without aid from the adult males.
Litter size is typically one to three kits, however they can range up to five. Otters also delay implantation at least 8 months, meaning birth may not occur until 10 to 12 months after copulation. Otters typically breed from December to April and gestation is 61–63 days.
Most river otters will start reproducing at 2 years old. River otters are polygynous (have several mates). Each year, DNR staff collect samples from river otter carcasses for population monitoring. River otter reports have been documented in most counties in Indiana and river otter will likely be statewide, though in some places at low densities in the next several years. The reintroduction went so well that the river otter was removed from the state-endangered list in 2005.
The otter was removed from the state-endangered species list in 2005. After five years of reintroductions, the otter population began to expand through natural reproduction. In 1995, the DNR began a reintroduction program aimed at re-establishing a healthy otter population in several watersheds of northern and southern Indiana. River otters ( Lontra canadensis) are now found throughout most of Indiana, thanks to efforts of the DNR and its partners.
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