otters in toronto

People think they keep spotting otters at this Toronto park but the jury's out

Do otters actually live in Toronto's waterways? A couple of recent sightings might suggest so.

Posts on Toronto Reddit and a local Facebook group (here's your credit, Weird Toronto) have captured a family of otter-like critters swimming at Tommy Thompson Park and Ashbridges Bay.

toronto otters park

A screenshot from a video uploaded to the public, account-free media hosting site streamable.com earlier this week.

The Reddit post features a video, which is hosted publicly on Streamable, showing some otters (or animals closely resembling otters) swimming and playing, ducking in and out of the water.

While it is notoriously hard to capture physical evidence of otters (most spottings are actually minks,) these recent videos might get us one step closer to having concrete proof.

Besides the exhibit at the Toronto Zoo, otters aren't likely to be living in Toronto.

A document from the city states that the Northern river otter was eliminated from Toronto in the early 20th century thanks to habitat loss. Some were spotted at the edge of city in 2012, however.

"While these individuals may not remain in the area, their presence is a hopeful sign that local habitat restoration efforts are improving the landscape," read the document.

Minks are way more common and are often mistaken for their otter cousins. Both aquatic critters have long tails. Mink tails are furry and rounded, while otters have flat ones. 

Another way to tell the animals apart are their faces: minks are more pointy and otters are more round.

So are these critters actually otters? Maybe. Are they more likely to be minks? Yes. Do we care? No, because any cute water mammal is still thrilling in our eyes.

For the sake of not getting blogTO'd (not our word,) please don't all run to Tommy Thompson on an otter quest. Let's give these otters or minks some privacy and respect.

Lead photo by

Stephen Gardiner


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Canada is seeing one of the worst standard-of-living declines in 40 years

Tributes pour in after death of Toronto City Councillor Jaye Robinson

It's going to get way easier to pay transit fare in Toronto with your phone

TTC literally just gave CEO Rick Leary an award days after chaotic subway shutdown

An aggressively spreading invasive species is completely taking over a Toronto park

50 tourist attractions in downtown Toronto you need to visit at least once

Stunning new lookout point overlooking Toronto wetland opens this summer

Stunning new Toronto transit station will link several TTC and GO lines