Neotropical River Otter Micro-Habitat Preference In West-Central Chihuahua, Mexico

We characterised habitat selected by the Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) in the Río San Pedro, located in the central portion of the State of Chihuahua in Northern Mexico. We monitored a 30 km stretch of the river for over two years and compared micro-site habitat characteristics at 21 used and 25 random sites. Characteristics of habitat preferred by the otter included pools that averaged >0.8 m deep, >14.6 m wide, >64% under-story vegetation cover, and rock talus/vegetation cover within 4.8 m.