Weber State students, Loveland Living Planet Aquarium searching for Utah’s river otters
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- Students from Weber State University’s College of Science set up cameras along the Weber River in Morgan County as part of a project to monitor river otter populations around Utah on Nov. 18, 2023.
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- Students from Weber State University’s College of Science set up cameras along the Weber River in Morgan County as part of a project to monitor river otter populations around Utah on Nov. 18, 2023.
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- Students from Weber State University’s College of Science set up cameras along the Weber River in Morgan County as part of a project to monitor river otter populations around Utah on Nov. 18, 2023.
OGDEN — A team of student researchers from Weber State University and Draper’s Loveland Living Planet Aquarium have teamed up to monitor otters along the Weber River.
The project was launched by Britnee Cheney, an expert and keeper at the aquarium, who began surveying the Provo River in 2022.
“I started working with the river otters here at the aquarium about six years ago,” Cheney told the Standard-Examiner. “I fell in love with the species and wanted to do more.”
Researchers spend every other week setting up cameras and lures in hopes of capturing footage of river otters. Findings are then shared with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources; any data that can be acquired on the distribution of the species could be helpful to future conservation efforts.
Rossetta Chen, the research team lead at WSU, confessed that she was unaware of Utah’s river otters before coming to school. Now, she’s motivated to uncover the creatures’ mysteries.
“There have been conservation projects where they release otters, but there hasn’t been anything like that in quite a few years,” Chen said. “I’m really curious — and so is everyone involved — wondering, ‘Where are the otters? How many are out there? Do they need more help?'”
Trapping by early settlers to the Beehive State resulted in a dramatic reduction in the population of native river otters and the destruction of the creatures’ natural habitat. According to the DWR, the State Fish and Game Commission was prompted to classify the otter as a rare species in 1899, which protected them from harvest.
However, otters’ elusive nature has made it difficult to assess current population numbers. The student research team, which is overseen by WSU zoology professor Michele Skopec, seeks to shed light on the otters’ current status.
By proving the presence or absence of the otters in Utah’s various waterways, the team can potentially gain a greater understanding of what the state’s river otter population actually is, which is key to the establishment of better management plans. It also unlocks the door to new research opportunities.
The aquarium team has captured footage of two otters together and may have seen as many as six different animals. Researchers at WSU are still hoping to see their first otter, but combing through the footage is a long and difficult process.
Chen says that the first placement produced approximately 11,000 photos, and there are more still to go through.
The work that’s currently being done could have ramifications beyond what’s going on with the animals in a vacuum. Otters may be near the top of the food chain when they’re in the water, but they’re susceptible to a lack of available food and pollution, which also is a human concern.
Said Chen: “If they’re not doing well, it’s not a good sign for the ecosystem or for us, in general.”
