North American River Otter Facts: the NORTHERN OTTER 🦦

The North American river otter is also known the as northern otter. Learn more about them with this Animal Fact Files Video!

Scientific Name: Lontra canadensis
Range: North America
Habitat: lakes, rivers, ponds, estuaries, etc. - prefer slow-moving water with vegetation
Size: average 20 pounds (9kg) and 4 feet long (122cm)
Diet: fish, frogs, birds, crustaceans, fruit, etc.
Threats: cougars, coyotes, bobcats, killer whales, etc.
Lifespan: 13 years in the wild

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North American River Otter RANGE 0:00
North American River Otter APPEARANCE 0:42
North American River Otter HABITAT 1:29
North American River Otter DIET and SIZE 2:09
North American River Otter THREATS 2:42
North American River Otter BEHAVIOR 3:17
North American River Otter LIFE CYCLE 3:57
North American River Otter SWIMMING 4:25
Thanks! 5:04
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[AnimalFactFiles]

I LOVE watching these animals at our local zoo!!

Here are some other otter facts on AFF:

[erstwhilegrubstake]

Otters, no matter what they're doing it always looks like they're having so much fun!

[DrivingGod]

River otters are slowly returning to the provincial park and river near my house. We often see beavers, muskrats, and mink, but there have been many reports over the last few years of seeing river otters near Calgary! Adorable little buggers.

[lkbrd]

I saw a pair this summer near Killington Vermont, in a small mountain stream.

[mariyaify]

There are river otters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota! Spotted 3 of them river puppies last week frolicking in the Big Sioux River.

[Abbie_Loves_John]

I live in Oklahoma and just saw one for the first time yesterday. Couldn’t believe my eyes lol. I was walking my big dog and he was swimming in the lake, popping his head up and watching us the whole time we walked by.

[kellyjohns]

I've been learning about beavers and I came across this when wondering what the difference is between them and the otter.
What a neat little critter. Big difference between the species, BTW 😏

[davidschmidt]

I seen one of them down here in the Texas hill country . I thought it was a beaver or a massive nutria at first.

[eunaekim]

I don't know whether I "otter" cry or laugh at these guys!

[indyreno]

Can you do fact files on the zorillas (genus Ictonyx)?

[BlockyMountainLion]

"they are generally top predators, but they have a few predators."
names every predator

[Lobo-tommy]

The range map in the beginning was from last century.

[ZenEndurance]

Anybody trying to map their territory, I saw some a couple years ago in Independence, Texas. That's on the edge of where anybody had previously seen any in a long time.

[prairie]

River otters do not have a layer of blubber, they rely on their waterproof fur to stay warm in cold water.

[chisaquaticvibe]

River Otter Troop #460 needs a new commander.

[ryansharp]

They don’t close their eyes underwater fyi

[billymorris-watts]

Beautiful creatures but they do so much damage to fish stocks if they are not controlled appropriately they will decimate local fish population

[whatabouttheearth]

Their scientific name says they're Canadian eh?

Lontra canadensis

[FitzGeraldDuncan-pi]

Moore Eric Thompson Michael Thompson David