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[Narrator] This is Passport to Texas. Every day Texas
Parks and Wildlife Biologist Gary Calkins fields calls and emails about otter sightings
because—he’s the otter guy.
[Gary Calkins] Because of doing otter surveys out here, and
then some other research I was involved in I ended up with that title.
[Narrator] He charts the sightings on a map of the state
only after he’s confident that what spotters saw really was an otter because…
[Gary Calkins] Otters, beavers and nutria in the water can
all look somewhat similar.
[Narrator] Despite the reports streaming into Calkins’
office, seeing an otter remains a rare occurrence as they’re usually most active when we aren’t.
Before calling in with a sighting, take extra time to verify it is an otter.
[Woman] That's what they are.
Gary Calkins] Otters are going to swim with most of their
head up out of the water. They’re going to be more inquisitive and a little more likely
to come to you; whereas beavers and nutria are going to swim away. Otter will dive, but
then they’ll usually immediately resurface and turn around and look at you. They also
have a tendency to whistle or chirp at you as a vocalization to more or less let you
know that you’re in their world. And so, the swimming behavior, whether it’s to you
or away from you, and then the vocalizations are really good keys.
[Narrator] Post your otter sighting to passporttotexas.org,
and we’ll pass it along to Gary. We receive support from the Wildlife and Sport
Fish Restoration program funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat
fuel. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia
Nasti.