ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is working with nonprofit groups to bring wild otters back.

Video shows crews releasing wild otters into northern New Mexico a few years ago, where officials say they are still thriving to this day.

“We just consider this a massive success,” said Darren Vaughn, communications director of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

It wasn’t very long ago when otters disappeared from the New Mexico landscape.

“This was their natural habitat up until they went extinct,” said Vaughn.

A report from nonprofit group, Amigos Bravos, suggests the notoriously playful animals were fully eradicated by 1953, likely due to excessive hunting and trapping. That left a hole in the food chain until 2008.

“We originally released 33 otters back in 2008 and then released another nine after that. So from there that population is only grown,” Vaughn said.

New Mexico Game and Fish leaders say there were close to 100 wild otters living in northern New Mexico back in 2017. They can only assume the population has exploded since then, bringing back a much-needed predator in the Rio Grande.

“We’ve got, you know, crayfish and carp and northern pike that have made an appearance in the river. None of those are native to New Mexico. So having those otters back, I mean, those otters prey on those species, so it just helps keep those numbers down and keep everything the way it should be,” said Vaughn.

Game and Fish reps say you might spot otters in the Rio Grande as far south as Cochiti Lake, and around Navajo Lake. But don’t let their cute and cuddly appearance get the better of you.

“As with any wild animal, you know, don’t approach them, don’t pet them. Just kind of let them do their thing, don’t feed them. Let wild animals be wild,” Vaughn said.

The BioPark Aquarium is inviting folks to come see their three otters: Mayhem, Chaos and Dixon in action Wednesday. Their World Otter Day event kicks off at 10 a.m.

Aquarium reps say they will be doing special training demonstrations at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Folks will learn a lot more about the efforts to bring otters back to New Mexico.

Game and Fish says it is possible wild otters could one day make their way south in the Rio Grande to Albuquerque, but they’ll most likely stay put in northern New Mexico.