For the past two years, the Morell River Management Cooperative has been investigating wildlife trends after setting up 40 cameras on an island – and a recent sighting left staff excited
Nature experts have shared their excitement after trail cameras they set up in 2023 finally captured footage of a creature they say is incredibly rare. The project was established by Morell River Management Cooperative (MRMC) to monitor wildlife activity on Prince Edward Island off the coast of Canada, and is clearly now paying off.
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), 40 camera traps set up by the Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division have provided valuable insights into the life on the island in the Gulf of St Lawrence. These motion-sensor cameras are monitored year-round, which enables members of staff to spot trends including the decline and resurgences of various species.
One of those species to appear has left the MRMC delighted, meanwhile – the river otter.
Sharing images of the rare animal on Facebook, they said: “In 2023, MRMC installed two trail cameras along the Morell River as part of a River Otter monitoring project with the PEI Watershed Alliance and Forests, Fish and Wildlife PEI. We haven’t captured any otters on camera, but we have seen lots of other PEI wildlife!”
The otter monitoring project’s coordinator, Hannah Murnaghan told CBC: “It was very exciting. We wish it was a little closer to the camera, but we’re holding out hope that we’ll eventually capture one if they are in the watershed.”
She added: “Having the cameras out just gives us a better understanding of what different species are using the riparian area, so that we can strategically plan our projects around that.”
Sadly, the International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) reports that, while river otters used to be widespread throughout America and Canada, the species disappeared from most of mid-America due to hunting, habitat loss, and pollution.
The IOSF states: “As of 2020, the North American River Otter is trapped for their fur across 52 states/provinces in the US and Canada. Many thousands of otters are killed each year for fur and, after their severe decline, otter populations were restored into 21 American states and one Canadian province.
“However, in many of these they can now legally be trapped again. In terms of sustainability, the numbers given by government departments for trapped otters do not take into account animals which have not been registered, or those which are caught incidentally when trapping for beavers.”
Writing in response to the MRMC’s footage, meanwhile, one Facebook user said: “Wow, these cameras caught so much amazing footage!”
A second person added: “Wow, amazing project.” And a third exclaimed: “That is something.”
There are also recordings of these otters in Northern Mexico, the IOSF also advises.
“Besides obviously being found in rivers, the North American River Otter can also be found in lakes, coastal marshes and even rocky sea coasts,” it says.
“They are active in both the day and night, and are largely fish eaters relying on a wide variety of species such as Kokanee and Mountain Whitefish, but they will also occasionally take amphibians, reptiles and rodents.”
