Return of the River Otters Creature Feature CReAtuRe FeAtuRe Victims of overhunting in the 1770s and of strangely high hide prices in the Depression, the inventive otter began its mountain comeback in 1984. by Nancy Henderson Bruce Anderson claims he was at the right place at the right time when the newly named Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency initiated a plan to protect indigenous species in danger from manmade threats. "I was real lucky," says the retired TWRA endangered species biologist from Crossville, Tennessee. "I hit that window of opportunity when they were trying to restore some of these endangered or threatened populations." Anderson felt even luckier when, in 1984, he took on his first major restoration assignment: to return river otters to the Cumberland Plateau. The playful, enterprising critters had been plentiful across the U.S. until the 1700s, when fur trading rose and public officials were often paid with otter hides. Widespread habitat destruction accelerated the problem. "The real demise of most of the river otter populations in Tennessee occurred More March/April 2016 15