Nevada mammals

North American River Otter in Nevada

Lontra canadensis

Native to Nevada S2 Imperiled in Nevada

Not listed as nonindigenous in Nevada by USGS NAS; native to its Nevada 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 Nevada, by the numbers

Rare in Nevada 115th most recorded of 142 mammals logged in Nevada

14 occurrence records
7 with iNaturalist photos
Apr 19, 2026 Last seen in Nevada

Records from 2000–2026.

14 total records count every Nevada occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 12; the monthly chart covers the 11 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the North American River Otter in Nevada

Most sightings fall in February to April.

11 Nevada 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 Nevada records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February2
March2
April3
May0
June1
July1
August0
September0
October1
November0
December1

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

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in Nevada; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where North American River Otter has been recorded in Nevada

12 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

12 Nevada records mapped

Where it's recorded in Nevada

CountyRecords
Elko County 4
Humboldt County 2
Washoe County 2
Carson City County 1
Douglas County 1
Other localities 4

The complete county distribution, spread across 5 Nevada counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

The selected datasets contain 15 Nevada records for the north american river otter. That small record set can’t establish a hotspot or show how many animals live in the state.

The monthly pattern is fairly spread out rather than confined to one Nevada season. It tracks observer records and shouldn’t be read as a population count.

The total combines 7 research-grade iNaturalist records and 8 GBIF records. Those records measure documented encounters, not Nevada’s population size. It’s native to Nevada. NatureServe ranks it S2 (Imperiled) in Nevada. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern globally.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

North American River Otter in other states

View 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 Nevada 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