A furry river animal that vanished from the Iowa landscape more than a century ago is gradually being restored to the Hawkeye State. Once considered a pest, otters were almost wiped out in Iowa around 1875. Ron Andrews is a furbearer resource specialist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He explains the state is enlisting trappers to gather animals from parts of the state like the Des Moines River valley where they’re plentiful, so they can be transplanted into areas like the west where otters are still scarce.