First Illinois Hunt in 87 Years Nets 2,000 Otters

During the first otter-hunting season in decades, trappers in Illinois caught approximately 2,000 river otters.

That's more than expected, according to The (Springfield) State Journal-Register. A state biologist attributes the larger-than-predicted numbers to high fur prices. Each river otter pelt brought in about $73. 

The 2012-2013 season marked the first time since 1929 that Illinois hunters could trap otters. The animals were once so rare in the state that authorities believed there were less than 100 of them in Illinois before 1990. But in the mid-'90s, hundreds of otters were relocated to Illinois from other states, and their numbers rebounded so much that by 2009, the population was pegged at about 11,000.

The inundation of otters started to be a nuisance to farmers losing fish out of their ponds, and commercial fish growing operations seeing sizable losses.  Last year the Illinois legislature approved the new trapping season.

State officials say this year's hunt culled about 13 percent of the population.     

The next trapping season begins in November and lasts for about five months.