river otters at Oakland Zoo
photo CC SA-NC-BY Our Oakland
According to the Rotary Nature Center and Lake Merritt Wildlife Refuge facebook page, a river otter was spotted in Lake Merritt on October 6, 2013. This is the first time an otter has been seen in the lake in decades.

This is a good thing! Save SF Bay Blog explains here,  and the San Francisco Chronicle wrote about it here. An article in the Tribune says they've also been spotted in Lake Temescal as well as other non-Oakland places.

In the News:

Learn more about other animals in Oakland: