Eurasian otters are becoming urbanized

The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is often associated with pristine or restored habitats in Europe. Increasingly, however, this species is occupying suboptimal urban environments. Between 2018 and 2021 Duarte et al monitored otters along the Spanish coast from Tarifa to Malaga, the western-most region of the Mediterranean Sea. They found otters prospering in urban environments such as golf courses, ports, and highly polluted streams. In 2012, in the port of Estepona, two otters were observed consuming fish unintentionally dropped while fishers were unloading their catches from boats.