The cleanup of the Anacostia River watershed has led to a rebound in local wildlife, including river otters spotted at Heurich Park in Hyattsville.

The Anacostia Watershed Society has been using automatic wildlife cameras to track the return of beavers and river otters along with the usual deer, raccoons and foxes.

River otters are a good indicator of the success of the years-long effort to restore the river, which includes everything from holding Earth Day cleanups to reducing runoff from the roofs of local schools to helping mussels grow in marshy areas.

“Otters tend to eat mostly fish and crayfish, and if the river is too polluted, then they just cannot survive,” the nonprofit’s Jorge Bogantes recently said. “So the fact that we’ve been seeing more recently, especially in the tidal river, is a great sign.”

River otters tend to be active at night and during sunset and sunrise, so you may not see them personally, but you can see evidence of them around, including flattened spots where they hang out, slides into the river and webbed paw prints.

Dogs are also attracted to areas where otters have left their scent and love to roll in it.

River otters have also been spotted by Anacostia Watershed Society cameras at Dueling Creek in Colmar Manor.

You can see images from the nonprofit’s wildlife cameras here.

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