His streamlined body maneuvers through the barely moonlit water as he extends those sensitive cat-like whiskers from a silvery muzzle searching for a suitable midnight snack. He is a river otter, who just a century ago, you wouldn’t have seen in or near Missouri waterways. Otters were nearly eliminated in Missouri because of unregulated harvest. Thanks to restoration efforts in the 1980s and early 1990s otters are once again found throughout most of our state. This time of year, in the third