Their homes are burrows in banks, under roots, ledges, or trees, and in thickets of vegetation. Otters are powerful swimmers. They enjoy sliding down slopes and spreading out all four legs and sliding on their chest and belly into the water or a snow drift. Fish and crayfish are favored foods of otters, but they will also eat frogs, clams, snakes, turtles, muskrats, and earthworms Mating takes place in winter or early spring. The single litter is generally born the next year from January to May, and usually contains from two to four young.
Adults remate immediately following birth of the young.
Otter fur is one of the most beautiful and durable of American furs. As with beavers, otters were a staple of the Missouri fur trade. Unregulated, over-trapping and habitat destruction led to their decline. By the 1930's Missouri's otter population was estimated to be only 70 individuals. In 1982, the Missouri Department of Conservation began restoring otters in the state.