When it comes to picking a good place to socialize, the bathroom probably isn’t high on your list. For coastal river otters in Southcentral Alaska, however, the bathroom is a major social hub.

River otters, like other social animals, have to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of hanging out in large groups. A big group makes it easier to catch fish, which seems like a good deal, but ...

For North American river otters, pooping is a social event that lets them exchange information, know who's in the area, and who might be interested in mating. These pooping areas are known as ...

Otter latrines do not smell bad and are not repugnant in any way. ... River otters, indicted as the culprits, killed and ate the helpless snappers during the winter.

“There were no tracks, no latrine, no middens, none of the classic indicators that an otter was in residence.” A river otter perches above a Cook County waterway.

A North American river otter is pictured at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Wyoming in 2015. ... surveys of otter “latrine” sites suggest they’re becoming increasingly ...

Moving to the present, the GFP Commission finalized the 2021 river otter trapping season at its July meeting. The season will be open in the same geographical area as last year and run from Nov. 1 ...

“In 2021, we had 25% of the otter activity at these latrines compared to what we had a decade ago,” Ben-David told lawmakers, sharing the results of surveys she conducted on the Green River ...

River otters can have negative impacts on other animals. One example is a large population of common snapping turtles that was studied for more than 15 years in Canada.