River otters use latrines as social hubs

A still image captured at an otter latrine site.
(Photo: Adi Barocas)When it comes to picking a good place to socialize, the bathroom probably isn’t high on your list. For coastal river otters in Southcentral Alaska, however, the bathroom is a major social hub.
Researchers are now working to understand how otters use these latrine sites to communicate and build social groups.
Coastal river otters have a somewhat unusual social system. The females spend most of their time alone and the male