HELP- Otters :(

[K9ThorsMom]

Ok, I'm in Florida, and have a question about a predator I didn't think we'd ever have a problem with, and I'm not sure how to handle it...At my barn we now have OTTERS that come onto the property at the front of the house and go into the pond...2 days ago, btwn 10am and noon, they blindsided and killed 6 of our resident ducks that were wading or resting in the pond...

We are devastated, as the attack was caught on the homeowner's home surveillence camera...they thought it was otters, because the attack happened in the water, and the ducks were dragged partially onto shore...that's when the mini donkey studs we have up there to protect them came running, but weren't able to do anything sad
Anyways, when I got there later in the afternoon (the homeowner wasn't home at the time, and was stuck at work), I secured the remaining ducks and geese into a large dog holding pen away from the pond, and made sure they weren't injured...at the time, I didn't see any signs of the otters still being there, until they returned later that evening around 9pm...there was one adult (presumable Mom), and 4 good sized pups...cute little buggers, but obviously they can't be there...we tried unsuccessfully to trap them (yes, i know they will tear us up, but I'm a CVT that works emergency, and have handled my share of wildlife, and I was so mad at the time I didn't care...I wanted them GONE...obviously I am able to type, meaning I didn't even come close to catching them because they escaped through the underside of the fence where it doesn't quite touch the ground and they or something appears to have dug under it...to be honest, even if that was fixed, they now know that our property is a "food source" and I'm sure they will be returning again and again...they can actually just go through the wrought iron gates in front of the pond if they wanted to :-/

Has anyone had to deal with otters before? If so, what did you do? Call FWC? Remove / eliminate them yourself? The eliminate part sounds harsh, but I'm not going to lie- it crossed my mind, but honestly I couldn't do it, because I know they are only doing what comes naturally...I just wish they would do it somewhere else sad

 

[fishin-nole]

Shoot them and sell the hides. Most counties here in FL. have a nuisance animal person who will trap them and remove from your property, but it's gonna cost more than a .22 cartridge. Call FWC and they can put you in touch with them.

 

[Komaki]

I too live in Florida. On the Escambia river. And I too have visits from Otters. But not one time has any of them attacked one of my animals.
I'm sorry for your loss, but by no means try to sell the hides. Unless you get the ok from fish an game.

 

[woodmort]

Are you sure the otters are responsible. I know they will eat small birds if the opportunity presents itself but never heard of them attacking adult ducks--fish and crayfish are their preferred food. Maybe you've got a gator or a mink. I would imagine they are protected so don't take the law into your own hands, call Fish and Game.

 

[aprophet]

I trap them but I process the fur and sell it there are a few trappers using cages to trap them most use conis or coil spring long spring traps to do it with. your first step is to find out what you can legaly do from FWS I have seen otters attempting to eat a snapping turtle with a fair amount of sucess I could not figger out what the G_d awful noise was until I found it. they are very much opportunistic about what they are eating, they are cousins with a mink ,weasel and a skunk and a few others

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustelidae they are caught in a number of ways the way that has worked best for me is placing the trap where they are passing through in their travels ie "a blind set"