Otters released in Rio Pueblo de Taos

Posted at: 10/23/2009 11:20 AM
By: SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press Writer

ALONG THE RIO PUEBLO DE TAOS, N.M. (AP) - Six river otters from the Pacific Northwest have been released into the ice cold water of the Rio Pueblo de Taos in northern New Mexico as part of an effort to return the mammals to their historic range.

The wild otters were trapped in Washington state and transported to New Mexico, where they were checked out by state game officials before Friday's early morning release. They will join 10 other otters that were released in the river last October.

The Bureau of Land Management, Taos Pueblo, the state Game and Fish Department and several conservation groups have been working to get the otters back into New Mexico's rivers.

Otters disappeared from New Mexico more than a half-century ago due to decades of trapping and habitat loss.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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