A number of years ago, likely in the 1980s, there was a program where otter were live captured in several northern states and relocated to several southern states. I am seeking factual information on folks involved, the when and where, and especially on the traps used. Years ago I obtained a number of early Bridger coil spring traps that were made specifically for the program and am attempting to document how many were made and used.
I don't know of any otter NC has ever received from another state. We have a very healthy population. In the mid 80's we caught coastal otters and bought some from locals trappers so we could reintroduce them to the mountains. We would hold them for several weeks and then haul them to the release sites and stock several waterways at once.
We tried several types of traps and sizes. Keeping the animal healthy and in good shape was an obvious priority. We tried a rubber jaw 1 with a spring. It would not hold consistently. The DLS 11 worked the best. Two traps at a dirt hole set worked best for our program. The bigger traps caught better but their weight and a fighting otter would strain their joints. The otter were in better shape with the smaller traps.
Trapping turkeys was a lot more fun. Otter hard hard to handle trying to keep both of you safe. We shot rocket nets over turkeys. We traded for turkeys mainly from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and quite a few were NC birds. Tried to keep coastal birds on the coast and Piedmont and Mountains birds in similar habitat that they came from.