Crows, otters and Michigan's Northern Lower Peninsula

In this episode of the Wildtalk Podcast, we talk to Scott Eggeman about all things habitat in the Northern Lower Peninsula region of the state, fly away with a discussion about crows, and we wrap up the episode with a chat about otters. Pete Kailing also stops in to talk about hunting and trapping opportunities available in the month of February. 

Episode Hosts: Rachel Lincoln and Eric Hilliard
Producer/editor: Eric Hilliard

• All things habitat
  • Michigan.gov/elk
• All things feathers
  • American crow
  • Bird walk event registration
• All things fur
  • North American river otter

Questions or comments about the show? Contact the DNR Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453 (WILD) or email dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov.

Transcript

Announcer:

The Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app is your digital connection to all things hunting and fishing in Michigan. Buy, store and display your hunting and fishing licenses. Check your points and chances for elk and bear. Apply for the draw and view drawing results. Access all the hunting and fishing regulations. View your hunter safety certificate and report your harvest all from within the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app. Just click the app banner at the top of the page for download instructions at michigan.gov/hunting. You know what that sound means. It's time for the Michigan DNR's Wild Talk Podcast. Welcome to the Wild Talk Podcast where representatives from the DNR's Wildlife Division chew the fat and shoot the scat about all things habitat, feathers and fur. With insights, interviews and your questions answered on the air, you'll get a better picture of what's happening in the world of wildlife here in the great state of Michigan.

Rachel:

Welcome to the Wild Talk podcast. I'm your host, Rachel Lincoln, and here with me today is my conversation crony, Eric Hilliard.

Eric:

Conversation crony. I don't know how I feel about that, the word crony, although it is an episode about crows, so maybe I'm a crowny and not a crony.

Rachel:

Love the pun. It was a toss up between conversation crony and dialogue diva and I like the way this is going so far. Well, we have another great episode for you this month. Our special guest, Scott Eggeman will join us to shed some light on the wintry happenings for wildlife in the northern Lower Peninsula. And then we'll take to the skies to learn about one of our most intelligent species that we have, the American crow. And then keeping in theme with super awesome animals, we'll chat about the North American river otter. And of course somewhere in the episode there'll be a chance to win the Wild Talk Podcast camp mug. As always, we're excited to bring you this fresh episode, but before we dive into the podcast, let's hear a word from our forests.

Speaker 1:

Trees provide for the wellbeing of our state. That's why we work so hard to keep our forests healthy and abundant so wildlife has a home, and so do people so that there's clean air and water for everyone. And so Michigan's economy can be as strong as the trees that support it because every branch of forestry ensures that future generations will always have a tree for life and forests for a lifetime. To learn how sustainable forestry benefits your life, visit michigan.gov/forestsforalifetime.

Rachel:

We are joined today by Scott Eggeman, the field operations manager for the northern Lower Peninsula region to chat about some of the awesome work his staff are doing this winter in the Great North. Thank you for joining us today.

Scott:

Thank you for having me.

Rachel:

Now, Scott, you're still relatively new to this position, so welcome aboard. Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

Scott:

Yeah. I was actually born and raised in southwest Michigan. Did a lot of hunting and fishing there and fell in love with the outdoors. Dreamt about going out to the west and going to the mountains and I was able to do that. I spent some time in Alaska and then moved out to Montana and pursued my education in wildlife biology. I graduated from the University of Montana with my bachelor's and my master's. Did my master's research on elk and in and around Banff National Park in Alberta. Came back to Montana, worked briefly for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in a shared position and then got a job with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Spent quite a few years there as their area biologist in the Blackfoot, beautiful area. We moved back to northern Michigan in late 2021 and I started with the DNR as the field operations manager on May 1st, 2023. I'm excited to be here and it's been a great experience so far.

Rachel:

We are certainly very excited to have you be a part of the team. We're super excited you made your way back here to Michigan. Now, when most people think of northern, they think of forests and woods and waters and critters that live within. And the wildlife division plays a huge role in making sure those places stay healthy and thriving and most of that is your staff. So along those lines, what projects have your staff been working on or what projects in those areas can we look forward to learning come out more in the future?

Scott:

We've got a couple of projects going on right now that are bigger planned, large scale types of projects that we get really excited about up here. We have forested openings and a grassland management program up here and we're reevaluating some of that work, looking at taking some of our planet openings, so some of the food plots and determining where we need those, where are the priorities for those? We have some viewing areas in the Pigeon River Country State Forest that are really popular with the public, so those are great opportunities to maintain a food plot. And then some of the other ones, we're discussing moving those into more native vegetation and really working on moving some of this into a restoration program with some of these openings. So we're exploring that. We're prioritizing those openings based on their value to wildlife.

So what's the return on investment for the public's dollars? And the return being outstanding wildlife habitat. Gives us an opportunity also to do work that crosses multiple species. So we're going to benefit deer, we're going to benefit elk, we're going to benefit some of our game birds, but by moving some of these to native vegetation, we're also going to benefit some of our native species, some of our non-huntable species. That's exciting for us. It gives us a chance to partner with other organizations. It's a multiple win project. We have one project we're highlighting this year. And one of our wildlife technicians, Miranda VanCleve, she's out of Atlanta, she's been really helping to get this project going. She wrote a grant with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and we're going to take approximately 100 acres within the Pigeon River Country and move that from a combination of planted and fallow openings to some more native species that I think will benefit multiple wildlife species.

So she's been helpful. We've worked as a team on that. We've got our other technician out of Gaylord has helped with that, Jessica Marsh. Both of the biologists, Shelby Adams in the Pigeon River Country and Angela Kujawa, our biologist out of Atlanta have also helped with that project.

Rachel:

Well that's great to hear. There's a lot of awesome projects happening, but what would you say are some of the biggest accomplishments your region has tackled this quarter?

Scott:

Some of it's just our standard seasonal work. In this quarter, we've had our elk hunt. There's an earlier period in September and that's broken up into three four-day hunts, and we had a pretty successful September hunt. And we go right into our October seasons a little bit. I wouldn't call it a break, but it's a little bit of a lull before our deer season starts in November. And obviously we know that's a very busy time for the entire division. We run check stations, we have to monitor for bovine TB in the Northeast, so that requires a lot of time for staff. And then we go right back in in December. Following the deer season, we go back to our second elk hunt and that runs for nine days in December. Again, another very busy time for staff, but a lot of fun.

We got a little break during the Christmas break and now we're right back into it. We're actually in the process of working on our elk survey. So this is our aerial elk survey that we do every two years and we'll be going into the regulation process for elk this year too.

Rachel:

Are you taking photos of elk or are you counting? How do you get the general population estimate from that?

Scott:

We break it up into cells. They're two mile by six mile cells and we just systematically run through each of those cells. Within those cells there are eight transects. So we fly basically the six miles one way, turn around, come back. Those are about a quarter of a mile apart, so you get eight transects per cell and when you spot a group of elk, you count them and do your best to classify them. So we're trying to get in general age classes and sex, see if we can't tell calves from cows. We will do our best to do that. And then we have another plane that'll follow us within a day or two and hit some of those same areas and they have to find at least 400 elk and they take pictures of them and really detailed pictures of them. This is a time-consuming process, but then they go back and they classify all those elk much more closely than we can from the plane.

So they will take pictures, bring them back, and just analyze every single picture so that they can get those sex and age classes down a little better. And that gives us information going into the regulations process of are we recruiting enough elk into the population? Do we need to raise or lower the number of licenses that we provide? So that's what that information is helpful for.

Rachel:

In years past, I believe it's shown that we have a growing population and I think the limits were somewhere between 800 and 1,600 elk, which is quite a range. So we thought there's probably about 1,200 elk. Do you expect that to be similar this year?

Scott:

Yeah. It just looks like we're trending that way. We have a population target range of five to 900 animals, some air figured into those. And at the lower end of the air, we're right around that upper bound of eight or 900 animals. We could be up as high as 1,600 like you mentioned, but we've been holding steady to maybe slightly increasing around that 1,200 number. So I expect we're going to be there, if not slightly higher this year, but we'll see.

Rachel:

1200 elk on the landscape probably, and yet I still have only seen four in person. For as big as they are, they sure can be elusive. I have been trying for years, rioting around with wildlife biologists to try to get my eyes on elk and I still have only seen four.

Scott:

Yeah, it's amazing how easily they can hide for such a large animal.

Rachel:

Thanks so much. We'll look forward to hearing the results of those aerial surveys. I think they should probably be happening soon. So within the next month or two, I suspect we'll have those numbers or sometime at least this year we'll see those numbers because they are used to help set our next regulations and things. So I appreciate you shedding some light on how that process works. Folks, you won't want to fly away. Next up is all things feathers.

Announcer:

There are many camping and lodging opportunities available in Michigan State parks. When you choose state park campgrounds, you get more than just a campsite. State parks offer a diverse range of recreational opportunities, including hands-on instructional classes, nature programs, places to fish, boat launches, family friendly events, and much more. Reservations can be made six months in advance. So why wait? Visit midnrreservations.com or call 1800-44-PARKS to make a reservation.

Rachel:

Today we're talking about murder, a murder of crows that is. The American crow is very common species here in Michigan and across the US, but if you spend any small amount of time watching their behavior, you'll know there is much more to this species than what meets the eye.

Eric:

I love crows.

Rachel:

What do you love about crows?

Eric:

I don't know. There seems to be an intelligence behind those dark, beaty little eyes of theirs.

Rachel:

I would agree, the crows know. Crows are extremely intelligent and adaptable birds known for their distinctive jet black, shiny plumage. Now, if you've seen one crow, you've likely seen many as this species tends to grow up in these congregations called murders or roosts if they're up in the trees. They exhibit this extremely social behavior and are considered some of the most intelligent in the avian world. Now this level of intelligence has carved them out a special place in our urban world because they thrive living near humans and watching our ways to strategically acquire food and shelter. So they're super opportunistic eaters and they will feed on insects, seeds, roadkill, small snakes, eggs from other bird nests, and even small mammals. So generally there's a good chance there's crows in the area because we have so many of them here, but they're also probably watching you and learning from your behavior.

Eric:

I always feel like the crows are watching me.

Rachel:

That's it. Yep. That's excellent. That's the new theme song. One of the most metal experiences I've ever observed in the natural world was watching a crow discover a nest of fresh baby rabbits. There was a group of crows in a front yard of a subdivision. This is a very urban area, and they took notice of a ground nest of baby rabbits that were just tucked away in the lawn. And my Disney wired brain immediately thought it was cute because these crows had taken an interest in these rabbits, but it quickly turned into a survival of the fittest situation and these crows were victorious so that they could eat, which is an important part of the food chain, but it was metal.

Eric:

Nature is brutal. You don't just realize how vicious nature is, how outright our rating for violence the natural world is. The gruesomeness of it is a downright NC-17 rating.

Rachel:

The crows really got me though because you don't think of them as birds of prey. They don't have talons like eagles do. They don't have sharp beaks or [inaudible 00:14:29] like raptors do, but they can do some damage to small critters.

Eric:

I saw a video one time where a white-tailed deer ate a baby bird and that really tripped me out.

Rachel:

I feel like so much of being a wild animal is just getting calories where you can. So if you're hungry enough, anything is food. But most often we do see crows scavenging along roadways or finding food scraps left from people in parks or in parking lots. However, crows have been observed using and creating tools to acquire food and also to defend their nests. So everything from collecting and dropping these hard shelled mollusks onto sharp rocks from high in the air just to get the food inside, so they break them open on the rocks, they pull out the food that's inside. To dropping pieces of pine cones and small twigs on people who are climbing trees that are near the crow's nest. So they're using tools that shows highly advanced brain function in these animals. Now, if you spend any time watching crows, you'll also notice, as we mentioned, they are always up to something. Rarely ever are they sitting still. They're watching, they're moving, they're doing some kind of activity.

And that's a lot of times can be play, so crows will play with each other or they will bully. So crows are bullies to birds that they perceive as a threat such as a red tail hawk or an owl. These birds that could potentially prey on nests or individual crows, they'll bully them out of the area and this is known as mobbing. So while they're mobbing these birds, it's a lot of chasing and barking and making loud noises. They will dive bomb these avian predators until they ultimately will leave. A lot of times you can see a flock of five to 10 crows chasing red tail hawks out of these areas and they'll go down and try to nip at their feathers and get them to leave the area.

Eric:

You ever see that video of the snowboarding crow?

Rachel:

No. Tell me more.

Eric:

It's this video of a crow that's got a frisbee on top of a roof that's got snow on it and it hops on the Frisbee, goes down to the end. It stops at the gutter. Grabs the frisbee, flies back up to the top of the roof with it, hops back on it, slides down to the gutter, grabs the frisbee, flies... And just over and over and over again like it's its own personal half pipe and it just is having a grand old time. So when you talk about crows playing, that immediately comes to my mind.

Rachel:

I think that's called crow boarding.

Eric:

Oh, snap.

Rachel:

Coined that term. Now, the American crow is common across most of Michigan, but its closely related cousin, the raven can also be found in the Upper Peninsula and parts of the northern Lower Peninsula. Now, while they look very similar, there are some noticeable differences. The first one and the most obvious is their size. So a crow body in length is about 17 and a half inches, whereas a raven's body, which still has the jet black, shiny plumage, their body size is about 25 inches in length. So there's a substantial size difference between the two. Their wingspan is also different. So the wingspan of a crow is 33 inches while a raven's is a staggering 45-inch wingspan, which is a pretty hefty sized bird. So ravens, them if they're in flight, you can certainly notice the large wingspan that they have or if they're near or their wings are tucked in and they're on the ground, they still look much larger than a crow.

Another distinguishing trait between the two birds is how many you see at once. So as we mentioned, crows are highly social critters. They travel in large flocks. There's always more than one, usually at least 10 to 15, whereas ravens tend to only travel in pairs. So you typically see one or two at a time, but never really more than that. Now, occasionally we will get reports of well-meaning, but curious people finding and collecting a crow egg in an attempt to train and raise a pet crow. And while I get the allure of it, don't let the intrusive thoughts win. Wild birds should not be pets. They should be left to the wild to learn how to forage and survive from the time that they hatch. And not to mention, it is illegal. Remember that there are also diseases that birds can transmit to humans. Highly pathogenic avian influenza is still in wild birds and is transmissible to humans.

So please do not handle wildlife if it's not necessary. Please do not steal an egg if you find one. If you do find a nest or an egg or a wild animal and you are concerned about it, you can contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who is trained to assess the situation and do what's best for that animal. Now, we talked briefly about crow murders. So it seems natural that we would now switch and talk about crow funerals. You may have heard that crows have funerals for their dead. And while I may look that way, it's a little bit more in depth than that. So crows will flock to a dead comrade in what appears to be a funeral or a mourning period, and some observations will report a road killed crow on the side of the highway with a flock of 100 crows descending down into trees nearby. And then in groups of 10, they will move down towards the dead bird and stand next to it for a few minutes before flying off.

While it appears that they're paying their respects to the dead, it's most likely a crime scene investigation. What those crows are doing is trying to determine what caused the death of this bird, how they can avoid this kind of fate and any other clues that they will then take back and retain to avoid these kinds of situations in the future. And crows will remember human faces and they can hold a grudge. So beware of how you treat these clever little critters. A study out of the University of Washington led by scientist, John Marzluff, studied whether or not crows could remember faces and the behaviors that are exhibited under certain treatments. This is truly fascinating.

So in this experiment, these scientists wore masks like Halloween masks, so they covered their whole heads. Each mask was different. And then they trapped in banded crows, which is obviously distressing for a crow to experience. There's also crows still hanging out in the area that are watching this encounter happen. Later when the researchers returned without the masks on, the crows ignored them. But when the researchers put the masks back on that they were wearing when they initially trapped these crows, the crows then mobbed them and exhibited aggressive behavior towards people with the masks on. They yelled and scolded and dive bombed these people who had previously caused distress to their fellow crows, confirming that crows do remember the details of the human face and can hold a grudge sometimes even for years after. So this study also showed that crows will train their young to hold the same grudge and pick up on the same clues that these particular people or things can cause them danger.

But grudges can go both ways. So in some urban centers, roosts of crows can become really problematic for people as they can cause quite a ruckus with their cacophony of loud calls and also a huge mess caused from their droppings. To break up the roost and to reduce the number of crows, some cities are taking action by attempting to haze the crows with trained hawks and some are using lasers. So a 2002 study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture's National Wildlife Research Center found that low to moderate power long wave length lasers will disperse birds in low light conditions. So literally shining these lasers at crows in trees was enough to get them to disband and move on for a while. Mostly because the lasers are disruptive and it's very suspicious to crows. They don't fully understand where this light source is coming from or what it's meant to do.

And while it appears the lasers did work initially to scare off crows, it was only a temporary solution because crows are smart and very adaptable and eventually lost their fear of it. So if you are experiencing problems with high numbers of crows, this approach can work but only best in combination with other hazing methods.

Eric:

It feels like a supervillain origin story. As a young crow, I was blasted with lasers by local municipalities. It changed my DNA and I morphed into what you see before you now.

Rachel:

I once was afraid of the laser, but now I understand its ways and it's got laser beams for eyeballs. Well, I hope you enjoyed this segment about murders, mobbing, and funerals and learning about the clever and always watching American crow. And if you want to see some other really awesome birds come on out to Pointe Mouillee, you are invited to join My Birds and the Detroit Bird Alliance, which is formerly the Detroit Audubon for the Spring Pointe Mouillee Birding Walking Tour on Saturday, May 4th. There'll be a lot to see, including dozens of shorebird species such as dunlins and black-bellied plovers and songbirds like the gray-cheeked thrush, warblers, and so much more. So registration for this event is required, and the signup fills up really quickly so you don't want to hesitate. If you are interested in participating, you're going to want to sign up here pretty soon. So we will put the registration link in our show notes, but you can also search for the Detroit Bird Alliance on Eventbrite to register for this event.

Now, to stay up to date on events with My Birds, the public outreach and education program created by Audubon Great Lakes and Michigan Department of Natural Resources, you can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, or X to learn more about upcoming My Bird events.

Pete:

I'm Pete Tiling, wildlife biologist with the Michigan DNR and your guide to Michigan's February outdoor hunting fun. Don't let the snowflakes and short day length keep you from the great outdoors. Get after the cottontail rabbits or snowshoe hare. Seasons are open for both until March 31 statewide. Find a friend with beagles and invite a new hunter along. Did you know that even 10 minutes of outdoor light each day helps boost the quality of our circadian rhythm? Meaning a better mood, better sleep in a dose of vitamin D. Crow season is upon us to open until March's curtain call. And guess what? The American crow fits the bill. Four 20 blackbirds can really make a blackbird pie. The internet is a great resource for a crow recipe.

Squirrel season is still in the game until the end of March as well. Seek them out when the sun plays peekaboo between 10:00 and 2:00. No need to be out at dawn as their most active midday. Bobcat hunting is still ongoing if you've got a tag. Get out until March 1 in units A, B, and C. Fox Hunters and Fox trappers, your time also runs until March 1. Likewise, raccoons are fear game for hunting and trapping until March 31st. Dive into mink and muskrat season, which glides along until the beginning of March. And don't forget, the beaver and otter trapping season is open swimming right into April for beaver into end of March for otter. Careful on the rotten ice.

The digest has all the particulars for your trapping tails. For those who are after feathers, the waterfall draw at the Allergan State Game Area Fennville Farm is your ticket. Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays now through February 12th. The morning draw is at a brisk 5:30 AM with the leftover draw at 11:00 AM. Flip to page 10 of our waterfall hunting rigs summary for the nitty-gritty. So there you have it my hunting friends, a February filled with outdoor adventure. If you go alone, let a friend know your plans. Aim small, miss small, and for Pete's sake, come home safe.

Announcer:

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Rachel:

The North American river otter lives in and near clean freshwater sources that are abundant with fish. And fortunately for us, Michigan has an ample supply of both and therefore we are home to a healthy population of river otters. But they don't just dwell in rivers, otters will live by lakes, marshes, swamps, or estuaries, and will take up residences in abandoned burrows or empty hollows close to the water's edge to allow for stealthy underwater entrances. Now, this is a semi-aquatic species spending a lot of time in the water to hunt and travel. And to move easily on land and in water, they have these really long elongated bodies with thick tapered tails, short legs, a wide round head, small ears and nostrils that can close when they're underwater. Their feet are webbed and equipped with claws, making them extremely agile in the water and they're pretty big. The average size of an otter is between 35 and 51 inches, which is quite long for a semi-aquatic mammal. And they can weigh between 11 and 30 pounds.

Eric:

A 30 pound otter. That just seems massive to me.

Rachel:

I agree. I was shocked to learn that they can weigh 30 pounds. It is like a decent sized dog. 30 pounds you would consider a large dog.

Eric:

Yeah.

Rachel:

What else weighs 30 pounds? A third grader?

Eric:

No, probably like a kindergartner. I don't know, how much does a kindergartner weigh?

Rachel:

A weird comparison.

Eric:

Is that wet weight or dry weight? Are they getting a couple extra pounds just from the absorbency of their fur?

Rachel:

Probably not because they don't absorb water. They have water resistant fur and so it just dries right off of them. They are not spongy, so they probably don't have a lot of water weight and they don't have flubber, they don't have extra fat to keep them warm. They just have extremely dense fur.

Eric:

I wonder if you shaved an otter completely bald if it would just look jacked. If it was just ripped because low body fat percentage, all this swimming and everything it just looks so toned and swole.

Rachel:

This is a horrifying image. I'm just picturing Kim Possible's naked mole rat Rufuss but times 20.

Eric:

You know what you call swole otter at the gym when they're helping out their fellow otters? Spotter otter.

Rachel:

Do you know what you call a scheming strategizing otter?

Eric:

I give up.

Rachel:

A plotter otter. What's an otter's favorite book?

Eric:

Harry Otter.

Rachel:

You got it. Harry Otter.

Eric:

Yeah. I feel like we could go all day with these.

Rachel:

But we just eventually would run otter time.

Eric:

Okay, that's the last one.

Rachel:

Back to how big these otters actually are. So despite weighing between 11 and 30 pounds, they are also really fast on land and are capable of running up to 18 miles per hour. That's fast. And if you've ever seen a video or seen them in person running, they look goofy when they run. They arch their backs up really high. If you picture a cat that is scared and it's got its hackles raised, it looks like that, and then it just gallops. I don't think they move as nearly as gracefully on land as they do on water, but it is certainly fun to watch and they move so swiftly. 18 miles an hour is really fast for land mammals.

Eric:

If an otter was suddenly charging me, it would be such a blur and look so weird. I would probably just turn and run because it would freak me out.

Rachel:

Yeah, all of that should be very alarming to you. We don't have a lot of reports fortunately of river otters trying to attack people, which is great because if they did, they'd be ferocious and you'd have a bad day with an otter for sure. Their teeth are crazy. Speaking of their teeth, otters are carnivores and they have the teeth to prove it. So they have extremely sharp canine teeth, but similar to humans they have these big flat molars that are really good at chomping down and breaking up hard foods. So you actually can hear river otters eating from a good distance away because they're eating foods that are really hard, like hard shell mussels and clams, and you can hear them chopping down on those crunchy foods. But they have more bite force than humans do, and even more bite force than cheetahs. So they have a similar or at least comparable bite force, like how much force they put down on their teeth to wolves. So a really incredible bite.

Now, with these strong teeth, they typically feed on aquatic species things like frogs, fish, turtles, crayfish or other invertebrates. And to help them find food in the dark, murky waters of riverbeds, they have these long, highly sensitive whiskers that are used to help them detect organisms. Now, these critters are dark brown in color and their fur is extremely dense and soft to effectively insulate the animals, which is especially important during the winter because otters are active year round. They do not hibernate, and they still need to hunt in those cold months. Now, during this time of year when the temperature is frigid and there's snow and ice accumulation, otters do still have to fish in the water, but they do have to work a little bit harder to stay warm and to make sure they're eating enough. But they've found a way to do it successfully.

So by rolling their bodies in snow, it can keep their coat clean, but it also traps a layer of insulating air in their wooly undercoat, which acts like a toasty little vest to keep them nice and warm. And they do have to find open water in order to hunt for food, which can sometimes be a challenge, especially in the Upper Peninsula during this time of year when water waves are freezing over. But to avoid this earlier in their year, as ice is forming, they will intentionally keep a series of holes open in the ice so that they can move freely in and out of these holes to get to water in order to hunt. River otters are highly sensitive to pollution and will disappear from an area if the water is becoming contaminated. But in areas where restoration has occurred to clean up these polluted waters, otters have made a comeback. One of the most famous otter spottings in Michigan was in 2002 in the Detroit River.

Long ago, back in the late 1800s during the fur trading era, unregulated trapping was occurring and it took out a lot of Michigan's river otter population. Largely because the fur, again, is intensely thick and warm and waterproof, which made for optimal clothing garments that people needed to survive cold Michigan winters. Now over time, trapping has become regulated. We trap in a much more sustainable way, but pollution has really endangered our waters in Michigan. As pollution entered waterways contaminating them, otter populations continued to stay really low to non-existent throughout much of Michigan. But with relocation and releases of wild caught otters in Ohio and Indiana, and measures taken to reduce water pollution in Michigan, the North American river otter population has grown and otters have returned to their previous home ranges. In April of 2022, a river otter was spotted near the Ambassador Bridge in the Detroit River for the first time in 100 years.

Because otters need clean water to survive, they are a flagship for healthy ecosystems and the return of otters to the Detroit River is a signal that the water quality has improved. So we really need to see those critters. They also are observed in the Grand River in Kent County within the last couple of years, and we suspect we have them all across Michigan now. So always special to see them and they're a really good indicator that that water is healthy enough for river otters to be there and lots of fish are there as well because metabolisms in these critters is really high. They have to eat so frequently so the aquatic life, the food chain is well intact in the rivers that they are living in. These playful little critters will also slip and slide and burrow in the mud and snow to play.

Many of these playing type of activities do serve a purpose, and some of them are used to strengthen social bonds or to practice hunting techniques and to scent mark using paired scent glands near the base of their tails. So they'll communicate through the scent glands with other otters that are in the area, and you can smell them. They're extremely fragrant. The oils that these scent glands produce are an extremely strong musky odor, which makes sense because they are part of the weasel family after all. Otters are a highly social species and will communicate in a variety of ways, including whistles, growls, chuckles, and screams. So they make a lot of different noises. And they also use touch and communicate through posture and body signals. So they're using smell to communicate, visual what their body is doing to communicate, and also vocally to communicate with other otters and other wildlife in the area.

Now, right about this time of year in the late winter and into the early spring, river otters will be giving birth. River otters give birth to one to three pups, and those babies will be born fully furred, but blind and toothless for a couple of months. And then eventually they will learn to swim after about two months old. Now, outside of this very short breeding window, males and females go there separate ways and they do not overlap and will live completely alone unless it's a female with her offspring in which she'll probably always have those babies with her until they're able to go out on their own. And one last fun tidbit. Yes, it is true that otters hold hands while they're sleeping. That's been going around in the last couple of years. There are some really adorable photos of otters that will hold hands while they sleep in open water. However, it is only sea otters that do this, not the North American river otter species that we have here in Michigan. Well, that's all for this segment. We'll see you on the otter side of this brief commercial break.

Announcer:

Michigan.gov/dnrtrails is your destination for trail maps, trail etiquette and trail closure information. Trail information for biking, cross country skiing, horseback riding, hiking, off-road vehicle riding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and even water trails for kayaking and canoeing are available. While you're there, remember to check out information about pet-friendly recreation, track chairs and the Iron Bell Trail. All available at michigan.gov/dnrtrails.

Rachel:

Now is your opportunity to win a Wild Talk Podcast camp mug. As a thank you to our listeners, we'll be giving away a mug or two every episode. Our January mug winners are Ryan Maxx and Suzanne Haynes. Check your emails, we'll be getting in touch with you soon. They answered the question, what are the frog species that have an antifreeze like substance in their bodies that allows them to survive the winter while buried only in shallow soil or leaf litter? Boreal chorus frog and western chorus frog. So both of these species are chorus frogs, but they are technically two different species. They're subspecies of chorus frogs, so they got us on a technicality. We'll give you boreal and western chorus frogs though boreal chorus frogs are very rare in Michigan and have only been found on Isle Royal, whereas the Western chorus frog is very common and is actually one of the first frogs we hear calling in the spring.

Now, there were other frog species that could have been listed including the northern spring peeper, wood frog, and the tree frog. To be entered into the drawing this month, test your wildlife knowledge and answer our wildlife quiz question. This month's question is, how many chambers does an elk stomach have? Email your name and answer to us at dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov to be entered for a chance to win a mug. Be sure to include the subject line as Mug Me and submit your answer by February 15th. We'll announce winners and the answer on next month's podcast so be sure to listen in to see if you've won and for the next quiz question. Good luck everyone.

Announcer:

Michigan Conservation Officers are working hard to protect and keep the outdoors safe for current and future generations. If you witness a natural resources violation, you can call or text the report, all poaching hotline, 24 hours a day at 1800-292-7800. Or fill out the complaint form available michigan.gov/wrap. If you would like more information on becoming a conservation officer, click on Become a CO at michigan.gov/conservation officers.

Rachel:

Well, thanks for joining us on this edition of the Wild Talk Podcast. Remember, if you have questions about wildlife or hunting, you can call 517-284-WILD, or email dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov.

Announcer:

This has been the Wild Talk Podcast, your monthly podcast airing the first of each month in offering insights into the world of wildlife across the state of Michigan. You can reach the Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453 or dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov.