The preserve spans more than 6,700 acres near Pigeon Point Lighthouse in Pescadero. Wildlife researcher Ken Hickman, who monitors cameras there, said he was surprised to find the otter in the footage. Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and state park biologists are also examining the sighting.

The animal’s route to the preserve is unknown. Megan Isadore of the River Otter Ecology Project suggested it may have traveled along the coast from the north or reached the area through creeks flowing from the Bay across the Santa Cruz Mountains.

River otters once ranged widely along California’s coast, but fur trapping in the 19th century caused severe losses. Hunting and trapping were banned in the early 1960s, and later improvements in water quality helped the species recover. Otters have since been reported in wetlands across San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and in parts of Alameda and Marin counties.

Midpen biologist Matt Sharp Chaney said otters can indicate healthy aquatic habitat because they depend on clean water and plentiful food. Their presence at Cloverdale Ranch, he said, suggests the ecosystem may support prey such as coho salmon and steelhead trout.

Cloverdale Ranch was bought in 1997 by the Peninsula Open Space Trust to prevent commercial development. The land was transferred to Midpen in 2023 and is managed as a preserve, with conservation grazing intended to support native plants and wildlife.