Amateur photographer Kevin McGorry has captured images of some elusive wildlife in Bucks County including a great egret, green herons, bald eagles and a peregrine falcon.
But what he photographed swimming in Manor Lake in Falls earlier this month was a first for him — a North American river otter.
“It’s something I was hoping I’d see,” McGorry said. “That is one to scratch off my bucket list.”
River otters are among the big ecological comeback stories in Pennsylvania. Once nearly rarely found outside of the Poconos, their numbers are continuing to grow across the state.
The appearance of Pennsylvania’s only native otter species is a positive thing not only for photographers, but the waterways throughout the state, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
The strong comeback of the semi-aquatic mammals, which were once nearly eliminated, means that water quality in Pennsylvania has improved, which is good for animals and humans, according to wildlife biologists.
Pennsylvania Game Commission staff have called the resurgence of the river otter population one of the greatest success stories in modern wildlife conservation.
Falls resident Kevin McGorry, an amateur wildlife photographer, captured these images of two Pennsylvania river otters at Manor Lake on Aug. 23, 2025. River otters are among the biggest ecological success stories in the state.
What happened to the North American river otter population in PA
American River Otters can live on land, but they prefer the water, where they can swim as fast as 7 mph and travel underwater a quarter-mile without coming up for air.
They also live around the water, in dens on the edges of lakes, rivers or streams. They primarily eat fish, which makes them an indicator species, meaning that their presence is a sign of good water quality.
This is why their population nearly disappeared from major river systems in the state by the early 1900.
The dramatic decline was attributed to a combination of development and industrialization that polluted waters and destroyed their habitats, plus over-trapping by fur traders.
By the 1930s the population dropped so low the only river otters left were in the Pocono Mountains, said Tom Keller, a furbearer biologist for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
In 1952, the Game Commission took steps to legally protect river otters and made it illegal to trap them.
Federal and state clean water protections in the 1960s and ’70s led to the state taking steps to clean up their watersheds to make them suitable again for river otters, Keller said.
In the 1980s the state rolled out an effort to reintroduce river otters by releasing them into the waterways.
In the decades since they were reintroduced, the otter population expanded beyond the Poconos, creating stable populations in the central, north and western parts of the state, Keller said.
The number of otters now living in Pennsylvania is unknown. But their numbers have rebounded enough that nine years ago game commission officials lifted the trapping ban, Keller said.
Fur trappers are allowed one river otter per season, Keller said, but the trapping area is limited to only the northwest and northeast part of the state, where the populations are the largest.
Why don’t we see more rivers otters in Bucks County?
Game warden survey data shows in the last decade there have been increased sightings of river otters in the southeastern part of the state. This includes Philadelphia and its collar communities, Keller said.
Commission officials believe the improved health of major waterways such as the Delaware River have allowed otters to expand their range and move inward from those bodies of water, Keller said.
In December 2023, an American river otter was captured on a surveillance camera near Ridley Creek in Chester County for the first time in more than a century.
Keller has no doubt that there are likely more river otters in Manor Lake. When spotted in pairs this time of year, he added, it’s likely an adult female and her pup, or siblings born last year.
Falls resident Kevin McGorry, an amateur wildlife photographer, captured these images of two Pennsylvania River Otters at Manor Lake on Aug. 23, 2025. River otters are among the biggest ecological success stories in the state.
McGorry, who’s 54 years old, said he’s out every day photographing wildlife in Falls, where he lives. It’s a hobby he picked up as a Pennsbury High School student 30 years ago. He posts his pictures in Falls-related Facebook groups.
On the morning of Aug. 23, McGorry said he was stationed along one of three freshwater lakes within the 2,000 acres of the Penn Warner Club, a private, protected year-round outdoor recreation area.
The Manor Lake is one of McGorry’s favorite places to photograph birds. He had captured photos of American eagles as they swooped and dived into the water and plucked out fish when two brown spots floating in the water caught his eye.
He thought, This is something different.
One of the furry creatures ducked underwater and the other started chirping loudly, McGorry said. No way they were beavers or muskrats, he thought as he started taking photos and video.
McGorry remembered reading stories on a Penn Warner Facebook group about people swearing that they saw otters in the lake.
When he looked at the pictures he’d snapped, he noticed rows of sharp-looking teeth — but not bucked teeth like a beaver.
After he uploaded the photos, he confirmed that it was a pair of river otters.
Now that he’s photographed river otters, McGorry said, he is down to just two wildlife creatures whose images he hopes to capture: “It’s only owls and coyotes.”
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Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: PA Game Commission: River otters are a sign of improved water quality