SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The Bronx River runs through one of the most densely populated urban areas in North America and is not usually known for its wildlife. Since the 1800s, the river was a dumping ground for industrial waste and sewage. But after 50 years of cleaning up, it's making a comeback, and so are the otters that used to thrive there. Well, maybe just one otter. RJ Hawkins is a local scientist who recently captured an image of an otter in the Bronx River - the first in more than a century. He joins us from New York. That is the scientist, RJ Hawkins. Thanks so much for being with us.
RJ HAWKINS: Yeah. Thank you for having me.
SIMON: How were you able to catch the otter on camera?
HAWKINS: Yeah. So I have been doing monitoring of wildlife species on the Bronx River since 2024. I started it as a project when I was in undergraduate school with Miami University to get my master's in biology, and it's just a project that has continued since then.
SIMON: You were shocked?
HAWKINS: Yeah. I wasn't sure what to make of it at first because, looking at the photo, it's just the backside of the otter. But after speaking with experts at Wildlife Conservation Society, at the Bronx Zoo and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, we were able to confirm that it was, in fact, a North American river otter. So it was a very exciting find.
SIMON: Mr. Hawkins, I mean this question respectfully and sincerely. How do you know it's not just an otter that escaped from the Bronx Zoo?
HAWKINS: That is a great question. Bronx Zoo actually has Asianic small-clawed otters. They're a little bit smaller and a little bit different than the North American counterparts.
SIMON: What does it mean to find this otter in the Bronx River?
HAWKINS: Yeah. So North American river otters are an indicator of freshwater ecosystem health. They can't tolerate high levels of pollution because the prey species that they eat, like fish - pollution can accumulate in those prey. Community members have been working very hard at restoring and protecting the river, as well as nonprofits like Bronx River Alliance and local politicians as well. And so it just really shows that all those efforts over the years have all paid off. And it's great to see, you know, all that hard work come to this success that is a healthy Bronx River.
SIMON: And other wildlife have been spotted at the Bronx River in recent years, I gather.
HAWKINS: Yeah. So in 2007, the first North American beaver was spotted in the Bronx River, which was the first time a beaver has been spotted in New York City in over 200 years. There were two beavers on the river, Jose and Justin Beaver. They were there...
SIMON: (Laughter) Sorry.
(LAUGHTER)
HAWKINS: Yeah. It's a good name.
SIMON: Yes. Go ahead, please.
HAWKINS: So Jose and Justin Beaver were on the river until 2018, but then there was a gap of about seven years where there were no documentation of beaver on the river. And then our trail cameras last year were able to spot North American beaver on the river again. So yeah. We have some pretty exciting finds. It's a great win for the environment and to show that, you know, these animals can coexist with humans even in these highly urbanized environments.
SIMON: RJ Hawkins is an independent conservation biologist who works with the Wildlife Conservation Society in the Bronx. Thank you so much for being with us, sir.
HAWKINS: Yeah. Thank you for having me.
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