In SE Alaska I've seen what appear to be pretty big otter "dens" in big holes under huge stumps/root wads on hillsides not too far into the timber above the tide line. These locations appear to be very well used, but if you catch an otter at one they will go dead for years it seems.
I once saw seven adult size otters shoot out of one of these holes, shooting like torpedoes into the water 20 feet below.

Thats otterly Unusual

What White 17 said. The Otters is a traveling nomadic animal. But does have a territory. When raising there young. That territory is smaller. Very dependent on the food source. A bay in a large lake would serve as the territory

Once the young get old enough. Then every one disperses
I really enjoy watching otters. Prolific predators. But playful and graceful

I know if you are a crawfish farmer or trout farmer they are a pain !!!!!! They can cause a lot of loss of revenue for sure!!!!!

They know where the dens are where they can stay. There winter travels are something in the land of ice and snow
I knew a fellow that hung Xmas tree bulbs on his 330s under the ice. They were the round glass bulbs. He did quite well. It was the
Under water edge set

I have read that pre-partum females like to den way up off the water. One assumes this is in the case of flooding they stay dry.

Just thought I’d throw out a raft and ask…

It never occurred to me about them crawling up into log jams..
I catch my limit of otters every year on a smaller creek,,not much more than 20-25 yards wide. Although I’ve seen a few beaver bank dens along it.. they are not very large holes and I questioned how many of them could possibly fit.
I do realize they are long traveling critters… just not completely sure how long they hang out in a given area..

Same here.
Otter will use old as well as occupied beaver houses,and bank dens as well.
Its not uncommon to catch otter in beaver den entrance sets under the ice as well as beaver-same with snarepoles.
Lots of trappers here who want to take otter under the ice will mark any old dead beaver house entrance runs to set after freeze up.Otter know their home range circuit very well and know where the food is and where they can hole up.
Because of that they are fairly predictable and easy to blind set.
Otter caught on snarepole at a live beaver house

Spot on Boco. We caught many otter in active beaver house runs

I always asked my self. Bet that was quite the house brawl we stopped )))))))!!!!!

I don't think that kind of talk is allowed in here mister...
Mind your own beesness.

20 yards wide hear is a river.

Same here, 20 yards wide is a river.

FoxKidd, you might be surprised at how big some of the dens are under those dirt banks. A farmer friend of mine was driving his old pick-up between the river and the edge of his corn field and he buried the whole hood area of his truck when the ground gave way. Remember, six or so good sized beavers can sleep in a den at night.

There's been a few times that I''ve found where otters will go into an old beaver bank den and then tunnel up so they have more than one entrance/exit. That exit is usually higher up on the bank than you'd expect and will often have a nice otter toilet there. A BG under water and a dirthole up top may get you a double.

I’ll absolutely remember that,, I’m still not as otter fluid as I should be,, we have not had our otter season nearly as long as other critters,, so I’m still trying to figure them out.
My best way to catch them so far has been in pocket sets and funneling down the creek to get them to go through a Bodygrip.
I have discovered several toilets,, but I don’t want to set footholds and have them destroy the area,,same with snares,, I dont own enough 280s and 330s to set up all the toilets I’ve found.

Well if a beaver can fit in it Im sure an otter can too.

You actually made me crack a smile with that one……..lol

Correct, if they stop, they die. They probably gotta keep moving to breathe or something.
You know how sea otter got pockets for their favourite rocks? I think river otter got some kinda gills in their armpits, but I’ve never seen them.

I had a question come to mind while watching a video of an otter scent marking. Why don't you hear of people using otter musk to imitate that? Don't they react to other otters scent markings?

Otter musk is a danger sign for other otters. For years I tried to figure out whether otter musk attracted or repelled otters. I came to the conclusion that it mainly (with a couple of exceptions) makes them wary. You will notice them use those glands like a skunk does when it gets scared, agitated or hurt.

Now bobcats...that's another thing completely. They are very interested in otter musk.

I followed some otter track in the snow and came to a spot where it had bitten off some green balsam limbs and made a little bed and curled up on them.

Otters sleep with the fishes.

[/quote]
Correct, if they stop, they die. They probably gotta keep moving to breathe or something.
You know how sea otter got pockets for their favourite rocks? I think river otter got some kinda gills in their armpits, but I’ve never seen them.[/quote]

Less pockets and more a skin flap in their armpits they use to carry things. When I first started skinning them as a kid I had envisioned a kangaroo pocket situation, and I was confused how I could possibly not find it while skinning them. Then an aunt pointed out the “pockets” are just the loose skin in the armpits lol

Where do otters sleep??

Emmet Otter and his folk sleep in Waterville.

When kid saw my first river otter hanging in the garage, first thing she asked was if there was any rocks in its pockets. I laughed my head off and said that was probably a cartoon thing……… She says “No, they like to keep their favourite rocks in their pockets”.
After some research, she taught me something that day…….lol