The city of Denton announced this week that it recently documented river otters at one of its parks for the first time.
The river otters were caught on surveillance video at Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center, a 2,900-acre nature preserve east of Denton that includes the confluence of Clear Creek and the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. In a social media post this week, the Denton Parks and Rec Department said that there have been reported sightings in the past, but staff had not been able to determine if the critters were beavers, otters or nutria, until recently.
“Two months ago we caught a family of otters on a game cam we set up on our new property,” the department’s post said. “While doing water quality monitoring we observed one in the water swimming to what might be a den in the log jam at the confluence.”
Anyone who sees the cute omnivorous mammals should not approach them, because “they have a fierce side with strong jaws and sharp teeth,” according to Denton Parks and Rec.
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