Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations how bad are otters?

the small stream that feeds my ponds runs into a larger stream about 150' or so below my pond. i have been trapping it the last 2 years trying to eliminate the beavers that are ruining the area. last year i caught an otter and yesterday i caught another one. i am sure they are coming to my pond. can they ruin a 3/4 acre pond? i got rid of 3 muskrats in the pond last year. also had one beaver swimming around in there one morning (he didnt last long). i have gotten rid of 7 beavers last year and 3 this year. all within 150 yards. the otters that i have caught are crossing the beaver dams. it is tough to catch them in open water like a pond. the guy from southeastern pond told me that otters tend to visit a pond only once in a while. they move to other areas quiet often.

any thoughts?

IMO otters are the #1 worst enemy of a pond owner as far as animals go. I have seen them clean out 1 acre ponds of nearly all the fish. Once they find easy pickings, they'll keep coming back til there is nothing left. My dad's friend had huge losses of fish in his ponds to otters until he got fed up and started shooting them.

Second only to cormorants which can and often do descend in the hundreds. They can clean out an acre pond in a couple hours.

Thank God we don't have that issue here in the Mid-Atlantic! Why, I don't know...

They're so cute and harmless.

if I see an otter anywhere near my ponds I will first crap my pants, and secondly go into the house for the shotgun and my 3 1/2 inch buckshot shells. Does that answer your question?

I may have had a mink or mink(s) relieve me of up to 40 trout last year and they are not anywhere near as terrible as the otters. Otters kill for fun too.

The VA Marine Science Museum in VA Beach has an otter display... Very interesting to watch the little monsters! One time I was there a mouse made the mistake of falling into the display. The 4 otters just had a ball playing with that thing before one ate it. There are a good number of otters at my dad's place on the Chesapeake. They are fun to watch as well, but I wouldn't want one anywhere near a pond of mine!

The first time I got to see a few up close at a large aquarium in Florida I was amazed at how large they were. I knew they were bigger than mink but these guys were much, much, bigger!

interesting regimen
I assume the first step is necessary to mark your territory...?
(edit)

Just goofin, CB1
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Seriously, does somebody have the Overton Night Ranger link?

No worries Brettski. I like your humor.

As far as marking my territory, nope. It's to cover my scent.

Cecil No. 5

???

Cecil No. 5=Top Selling Perfume

I have a family of 5 that move around one of the ponds I manage. They come in from downstream from somewhere. I have effectively given up on the pond. Cal F and G won't do anything unless they stay at least 7 days. And they are a protected species so can't blast them. They will catch all of the fish within a few days. There are some photos on the net of catfish still alive with half of thier heads chewed off. Sometimes they just take a bite or two and play with the carcass. They eat everything, ducks, crawdads, every kind of fish. I don't know what is left as they just appeared a few months back, stay a few days then leave. I imagine the gambusia are all that remains, maybe some small frogs. They even killed a bunch of ducks. I planted a dozen full growns turtles and made an island for them. A resident got a photo of them basking on turtle island, how cute. I informed management I was done with the pond, nothing I can do, nothing.

SSS

SSSS for Cecil! haha.

I watched one in Florida out of water on the dock. They are so goofy, I think it wanted to play.

I hear they like to eat lead

Frog have you considered putting in an electric fence, it kept the otters out of my pond, atleast untill we had 2 feet of snow.

No Electric fence as this is a historical landmark pond. Also a duck pond for elderly and retired residents. Zapping old folks and shorting out thier pacemakers would be bad for business. I'll just scale back to some marginal plants and fish too small for otters to bother with. Gambusia and fhm. I think my 1500 bg and goldfish are otter food. Hopefully not my full groen turtles, but I wish I had never put them in either.

i am still seeing some tracks below my pond in the stream bed. looks like the beavers arent trying to rebuild their dams at this time, which is good..i read for hours last night about trapping otters. everything said to use a body trap placed in the water only. the 2 that i caught were both out of the water crossing beaver dams. i have never seen one in my pond. are they totally nocturnal? i am around the pond on and off everyday, pretty late in day during the summer months. i would love to rid my area of the beavers and otters!!!

Both beavers and otters aren't nocturnal, they just move about more after dark because there is less chance of human contact. It's easier to keep beavers under control because they don't roam and have as much territory that they call home as otters.

They are day time critters. And they are very smart, hard to trap. Like everything else here in California, you need a permit to trap them. Then once you get that and are lucky enough to catch them you pet them on the head and relocate them to destroy someone elses pond. That is probably where mine came from. We even have guidelines on the type of traps to be used. They are not that shy, you should see them, not tracks. And you should see signs of them, half eaten dead stuff everywhere. I don't mind beavers so much, they are vegetarians. And they are also easy to find. They will make a den, and usually has a hole to the water inside and a slide outside. I have some photos of one near my home. You have to protect your desired trees from them. If you are around beavers at night they will loudly slap thier tail on the water. repeatedly. That is your signal to get lost. During the day they are slightly shy. Otters may play right in front of you. Depends on thier exposure to humans.

found the link