The North American river otter is found throughout most of North America except for relatively dry areas in parts of southern California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and southwest Texas and the colder areas of extreme northern Canada.
In most of its range, this otter shows Delayed implantation: birth may not occur until 10-12 months after mating. This ia response to food seasonality
The range of the North American river otter has been significantly reduced by habitat loss and pollution. In a number of states, they are protected, while in others they have been reintroduced to allow pelt harvesting
