River Otter Predation on Glaucous-Winged Gulls on Mandarte Island, British Columbia

The Murrelet ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolaas A. M. Verbeek ◽  
Joan L. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
River Otter

Food habits of the river otter Lutra canadensis in the marine environment of British Columbia

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Stenson ◽  
G. A. Badgero ◽  
H. D. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Food Habits ◽  
River Otter ◽  
River Otters ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Lutra Canadensis ◽  
Fish Remains ◽  
Coastal British Columbia

Food habits of river otters (Lutra canadensis) inhabiting coastal British Columbia were studied by examining scat and stomach samples. Fish remains occurred in 99.4% of the scats while crustacean and bird remains were encountered in 7.2 and 4.2%, respectively. The majority of fish identified belong to six groups: Embiotocidae (occurring in 42.2% of the scats), Cottidae (40.5%), Pleuronectiformes (40.0%), Blennioidea (33.3%), Scorpaenidae (30.1%), and Hexagrammidae (13.1%). Of 69 stomachs collected by trappers, 86.9% contained remains of fish and 13% contained bird remains. Only two samples (2.9%) contained crustacean remains. Similar families of fish were found in both scat and stomach samples. Scat samples, collected on 10 consecutive visits to 55 sites from May 1977 through February 1978, indicated that, with the possible exception of bird remains, food types do not appear to vary seasonally. Otters in the marine environment utilize their habitat in the same manner that freshwater otters do; they are opportunistic feeders and rely primarily on midsize, slower moving fish that occur in the intertidal and subtidal regions close to shore.

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