Montana’s river otter records, 61 in all, hug the western half of the state. Missoula, Lake, Mineral, and Flathead counties carry most of the total, Beaverhead adds a cluster in the southwest, and the strongest single site is the wilderness area of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
A fisherman in fur
Otters live where fish, crayfish, and frogs are plentiful and the water runs clear enough to hunt in. A Montana river otter works riffles and pools with equal ease, using sensitive whiskers to find prey in cloudy water, and it travels widely, a family may cover miles of riverbank in a few nights. Slides worn into muddy banks and snow are often the clearest sign it leaves behind.
No season off the water
Otters neither hibernate nor hole up for winter. They hunt under ice and along open leads through Montana’s coldest months, which is why the record shows them in every season. Counts rise modestly in May and again in midsummer, when long days put both otters and people on the water at the same hours.
Status in Montana
NatureServe ranks the river otter S5, Secure, in Montana, and the species is native to the state. USGS NAS does not list it as nonindigenous here.
