The rapid recovery of certain bodies of water in southwestern Pennsylvania is remarkable. Otters and sportsmen and sportswomen are allies in the fight for clean water. Since 1982, the Game Commission has released more than 100 otters in northcentral and northwestern Pennsylvania, where otter populations are growing, and southwestern Pennsylvania, where otters are beginning to take hold. A healthy native otter population inhabits northeastern Pennsylvania, where between 30 and 40 otters were captured and released in other parts of the Commonwealth. Residents in southcentral and southeastern Pennsylvania continue to see otters returning to the lower Susquehanna River basin.
Females are slightly smaller.
An otter's tail is long and tapered, thickest where it joins the body and furred its entire length. The face is broad, and the eyes protrude slightly. Because otters are secretive and nocturnal, it's hard to estimate the population. In February, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Wild Resource Conservation Fund unveiled the state's newest special-fund license plate, which features the river otter. The plate depicts an otter in its natural habitat along a riverbank in the foreground and a colorful sunset over the mountains in the background.