River Otters: Back on the Bay Area Map!

River otters are charismatic carnivores, and make wonderful ambassadors for river and wetland restoration and conservation efforts. Once extirpated in the SF Bay Area, little is known about their current population, range, and seasonal eating habits. The River Otter Ecology Project has taken on the challenge of discovering and documenting their ecological niche, with the goal of informing land use decisions and preserving habitat for these lively aquatic mammals.

Join us as we discuss what we know, what needs to be discovered, and just how we manage to research elusive, secretive mammals who slide into the water and disappear when approached. We will show slides and videos from our "otter-cams," and discuss the project and the role that citizen science plays in this otterly exciting work!

Speaker: Robyn Aston, River Otter Ecology Project