Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Otter

Will an otter do any damage to a pond? Just wondering. I think yes, but I could be wrong...

It'll eat the hell out of your fish

It won't really damage the pond, but it will put the hurt to the fish population!!

If one of those little ****ers ever shows up at my pond it's his worst Caddy Shack nightmare complete with IED's and a bazooka!

Iwas a bit amused during last wt bow season that 5 river otters were playing and making their way towards me one afternoon. I was soon to realize they were on their way to my pond not 200 yes away and I made a move to draw, they saw me and got out of dodge. Worries me to know they are in the area and most likely having sushi during the week.

Ya, otters are probably the worst thing for a pond!!!

Wow, freefire, with 5 of them they would do some serious damage. Have you seen any signs of them being present in your pond? How big is your pond?

Todd3138,

No signs of them in some time, although year before last, prior to stocking and managing, I did see one in there, but no signs of since.

It's 1ac, stocked last April with 80 hybrid LMB, 250 cnp, 250 hbg, FHM,and 200 cc. Most were stocked at around 2-3" but so far as of this year the LMB have averaged 15-16", cnp 8", cc 7", and hbg 8".

I have no idea what impact the otters may have caused since I'm pretty much there on the weekend and I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary.

What kinds of sign would otters leave behind other than slides into the water? Do they leave fish on the bank?

I've never experienced them myself, but from reading here, they are known to just kill fish and leave them, eat a little bit of them and leave them, or eat them altogether. So, you may find carcasses or not, depending on their mood is what it sounds like from other posts. Plus, I think they have the ability to wipe out a pond pretty quickly if they are left unchecked. As far as other physical signs, I really don't know what you'd expect to find, but hopefully some others here will chime in and share their otter experiences with you.

They usually leave skeletons on and all around side of the pond...first clue. Second, they poop in a place usually highest part of a damn. Thats right, look for a poop pile and when u see the scat, it will have a ton of scales in it.

Remember, know your species by their feces!

I'm pretty sure they also eat the heads off the fish, so if you see tons of headless carcasses you know it's an otter.

I noticed about 6-8 fresh empty turtle shells around my pond this weekend. Never seen this before, but since I trapped an otter last year, I can only assume there are more. Thoughts?

Also, would otter and beaver be able to co-exist on a 12 acre pond?

I think you have at least one more otter. Yes, beaver and otter co-exist in ponds. Otter have much larger home territory than beavers, so they might have several beaver colonies in their home range.

It appears my concerns were valid, just last week I spotted a otter in the pond and I'm disappointed to say he got away. Was able to take a shot with the 30-30 but the shot missed. Hopefully it will change his mind on staying but I'm not so hopeful.

where i duck hunt at there are 2 otters and 100's of 6 to 8" catfish bodies with the heads eating off every time i go to this 6 acre pond.they will catch one and take a bite out of there heads or throat and leave them on the bank, just to catch another one and do the same thing. if i had one in my pond it would be out as quick as possible.

Hopefully they are cleaning out the bullheads