Otter spotted in Ticino again

Thanks to camera traps and genetic analyses, an otter has once again been confirmed in the Leventina region of Ticino.

In 2013, a dead male otter had already been found in the Leventina after being struck by a vehicle on a road. Now, laboratory analyses from the University of Lausanne and images from camera traps in Ticino have once again provided evidence of an otter's presence in the southern canton.

Origin of the otter

Since this shy, elusive predator is known to travel great distances, it could be related to individuals from Domleschg in the canton of Graubünden, the Ticino authorities speculate in their press release. A connection to the otters spotted in the Valle del Ticino nature park in Italy is also conceivable, though considered less likely.

The protected Eurasian otter disappeared from Switzerland in the late 1980s. The last known individual was observed at Lake Neuchâtel at that time, after which none were sighted for 25 years.

Almost wiped out by the fur trade

The agile swimmer had been hunted for its fur. It also suffered from pollution, and its habitats had been destroyed. For this water-adapted mustelid species to feel at home, it requires clean, fish-rich rivers.

Otters are solitary animals and occupy territories of up to 40 kilometres in length along interconnected waterway systems. Their preferred habitat consists of shallow rivers with densely vegetated banks and floodplains. Their diet consists mainly of fish, though otters also eat amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, birds, crayfish, and carrion. They are capable of overpowering birds as large as a grey heron.

Slow return to Switzerland

It was not until 2010 – or 2009, depending on the source – that a European otter was spotted again in the canton of Graubünden. Since then, the animal has been slowly returning to Switzerland – including to the cantons of Ticino and Geneva. In 2015, an entire otter family was documented along the Aare between Thun and Bern. The return of the European otter shows how important intact habitats and biodiversity are for species diversity.