(Submitted photo by Logan Delong)
You otter believe it!
- Published: May 21, 2026
New village resident and photographer Logan Delong happened across a remarkably uncommon sight on his morning hike through Glen Helen on Sunday, May 3: a river otter sunbathing on a log in the preserve’s beaver-made wetland. Delong observed the aquatic mammal lazily lounging for some time, occasionally batting its webbed paw to wave away a turkey vulture swooping over it, evidently checking for signs of life.
According to Glen Helen Director Nick Boutis, the sighting of a river otter in the Glen is a testament to the animal’s conservation success story, as they were — like beaver — totally extirpated from the state by the early 1900s. They were reintroduced by wildlife officers in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and over the last few decades, have spread widely throughout the state.
“Although the Ohio Department of Natural Resources lists them as common, I’ve never seen one in the wild in Ohio, and regard any sighting as truly special,” Boutis wrote to the News. “To me, the fact that an otter was spotted in the beaver pond is yet another sign of the way that the beavers have created important habitat that supports a wide variety of species.”
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