{"id":857571,"date":"2026-09-23T08:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T08:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/857571\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T08:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T08:30:13","slug":"river-otters-are-showing-up-in-san-antonio-river-what-do-their-return-mean-for-citys-waterways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/857571\/","title":{"rendered":"River otters are showing up in San Antonio River. What do their return mean for city\u2019s waterways?"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2013 River otters are making a comeback in the Alamo City, but just because their cute and playful faces are being spotted again doesn\u2019t necessarily mean they\u2019re here to stay.<\/p>\n

The San Antonio River Authority recently captured river otters on its trail cameras and shared the sighting on social media. <\/p>\n

Aquatic biologist Adrian Arroyos said their presence is significant because river otters can help indicate the health of the surrounding environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cRiver otters are an indicator species,\u201d Arroyos said. \u201cMeaning that they\u2019re only here because the water quality is good enough for them to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why are river otters returning to San Antonio?<\/p>\n

River otters historically lived throughout Texas, but factors including overhunting, expanding cities and poor water quality pushed them out of much of their natural habitat.<\/p>\n

Arroyos said restoration efforts along the San Antonio River over roughly the last decade to 15 years have placed a greater emphasis on maintaining healthy waterways.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a big question, but it\u2019s a good question. Why now?\u201d Arroyos said. \u201cBecause over the last decade, maybe 15 years or so, there\u2019s been such an emphasis on restoration, on keeping our rivers healthy, enjoyable for everybody to use.\u201d<\/p>\n

That restoration is also helping provide the resources otters need. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey like clean water with plentiful resources,\u201d Arroyos said. \u201cBy resources, I mean food to eat, habitat to sleep in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those food sources include fish, crayfish and frogs.<\/p>\n

Where were they seen? <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t expect to see an otter every time you head down to the San Antonio River.<\/p>\n

River otters are more active at night and in the early morning, making sightings more difficult. The River Authority is using trail cameras to monitor their activity. <\/p>\n

If you think you\u2019ve spotted one, take a closer look. River otters can sometimes be confused with nutria.<\/p>\n

\u201cA river otter\u2019s tail is going to be thicker. It\u2019s going to be more flat and long, with its fur going all the way through,\u201d Arroyos said. \u201cAnd then the nutria is a very slender, thin, rat-like sort of tail.\u201d<\/p>\n

What should you do if you spot a river otter? <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re lucky enough to see one, remember you\u2019re visiting its habitat.<\/p>\n

Keep your distance and enjoy the sighting from afar. You can snap a photo and share your sighting with the San Antonio River Authority and KSAT Connect<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The return of river otters may excite San Antonians, but their presence also tells a bigger story about the habitat and water they depend on.<\/p>\n

Daily Forecast\"\"<\/p>\n

KSAT meteorologists keep you on top of the ever-changing South Texas weather.<\/p>\n

QUICK WEATHER LINKS<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 River otters are making a comeback in the Alamo City, but just because their cute…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":857572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1147,192,6632,164253,6999,362139,79,95589,201],"class_list":["post-857571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-animals","tag-environment","tag-outdoors","tag-river-otters","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-river-authority","tag-science","tag-whatever-the-weather","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}