Nebraska mammals

North American River Otter in Nebraska

Lontra canadensis

Native to Nebraska S4 Apparently Secure in Nebraska

Not listed as nonindigenous in Nebraska by USGS NAS; native to its Nebraska range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

River Otter (Lontra canadensis)Lontra canadensis -536750754LutraCanadensis fullresLontra canadensis side viewNorth American River Otter (Lontra canadensis)
Photo: Neal Herbert · Public domainRiver Otter (Lontra canadensis)Photo: The original uploader was Brian.gratwicke at Wikipedia. · CC BY 2.5Lontra canadensis -536750754Photo: Dmitry Azovtsev · CC BY-SA 3.0LutraCanadensis fullresPhoto: TimVickers · Public domainLontra canadensis side viewPhoto: Chris Fluit · CC BY 4.0North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis)

North American River Otter in Nebraska, by the numbers

Occasional in Nebraska 53rd most recorded of 95 mammals logged in Nebraska

20 occurrence records
12 with iNaturalist photos
May 23, 2026 Last seen in Nebraska

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the North American River Otter in Nebraska

Most sightings fall in January to March.

20 Nebraska occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Nebraska records (table)
MonthRecords
January2
February3
March3
April1
May3
June2
July1
August1
September0
October2
November2
December0

Monthly north american river otter occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Nebraska, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Nebraska, with recorded sightings peaking in January–March, with a smaller rise in May–June and October–November.

Occurrence map

Where North American River Otter has been recorded in Nebraska

20 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

20 Nebraska records mapped

Where it's recorded in Nebraska

CountyRecords
Buffalo County 3
Hall County 3
Kearney County 2
Saunders County 1
Lincoln County 1
Deuel County 1
Knox County 1
Greeley County 1
Merrick County 1
Custer County 1
Holt County 1
Antelope County 1
3 other counties 3

The complete county distribution, spread across 15 Nebraska counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

River otters carry a NatureServe S4 apparently secure rank in Nebraska, reflecting a species that was extirpated from the state and only returned through a reintroduction program beginning in the late 1980s along the Niobrara and other river systems. The record splits fairly evenly between iNaturalist (12) and GBIF (16) for just 20 total sightings, a thin dataset for a mammal that ranges widely and is easy to miss even where present.

Records spread across ten separate months, with February, March, and May tied for the highest count (3 each), and none at all in September or December, gaps too small on 20 records to read as anything more than chance.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

North American River Otter in other states

North American River Otter range map (all states)

River Otter (Lontra canadensis)
Full species profile North American River Otter Lontra canadensis Size 0.7–1.1 m2.2–3.5 ft Weight 5–15 kg11–33.1 lb Lifespan 13 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Nebraska in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries