Fig. 62. River otter (Lutra canadensis pacifica), trapped in Columbia National Forest, Washington, February, 1937. (Adolph Roth photo.)
The favored food of the otter in fresh water streams and lakes is the crayfish. The greater part, perhaps 80 per cent, of otter feces seen in the lowlands of western Washington, were composed of crayfish remains. Some fish are also eaten and locally otters may do damage among the steelhead trout. Even worse, from the fisherman's standpoint, they frighten and scatter the schools of steelhead trout. Frogs are eaten, as well as the thin-shelled mussels. The feathers of coots were twice seen in otter feces near Cottage Lake, King County.
The fur of the otter is dense and beautiful but the skin is rather heavy. Changes in styles cause great fluctuation in the value of the otter's pelt.
Fig. 63. Distribution of the river otter in Washington. Unshaded Lutra canadensis pacifica. Shaded Lutra canadensis vancouverensis.
Lutra canadensis pacifica [Rhoads]
Lutra hudsonica pacifica [Rhoads], Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s., 19: 429, September, 1898.