Audubon Society: On Saturday, March 9, join a bird walk at
Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge, off routes 97 and 78, just west of Havana, Illinois.
The purpose of this study was to determine the diet composition of river otters in the restored habitats present at the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge and The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve.
Research was conducted at the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge (40[degrees]20'05"N, 90[degrees]05'53"W) and the Emiquon Preserve (40[degrees]20'38"N, 90[degrees]04'17"W) located near Havana and Lewistown along the Illinois River in Fulton County, Illinois (Fig.
A few deceased crayfish from unknown causes were also found at the Wilder Tract of the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge and these specimens were identified as Orconectes immunis.
It is unknown exactly where otters were consuming prey due to their ability to move long distances (Melquist and Hornocker, 1983), but the fact that most of the latrine activity occurred around the South Globe of the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge rather than the Emiquon Preserve suggests the possibility there were habitat conditions that were beneficial to otters.
The shallow waters at the South Globe of the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge appear to be providing ideal conditions for river otters to consume large amounts of smaller-sized fish.