River Otter Design to Be Revealed on February 20

While Lewis & Clark officially adopted the River Otters as our mascot in October 2025, the campus and alumni community have been waiting with eager anticipation to find out what our river otter will look like. The wait is almost over: 2026 is our Year of the River Otter, with the reveal of the mascot design planned for Friday, February 20, 2026.

The unveiling will come at the end River Otter Week, a week of otter-related activities that will begin on Monday, February 16.

“Look forward to a week of ‘otterizaton’ of our campus, giveaways, scavenger hunts, and more, culminating with the big reveal on Friday!,” Associate Vice President for Communications Stacey Kim said.

Plans for the lead up to the reveal include merch giveaways and sales; flags, banners, and other visuals on display across the CAS, graduate, and law campuses; and an afternoon event on February 20 to celebrate our new mascot.

The river otter triumphed in fall’s ranked-choice voting for our new mascot as the top choice of students, faculty, staff, and alumni. River otters are known for being smart, scrappy, and full of joy, but make no mistake about it: they can also be fierce and cunning when needed. River otters are also collaborative and teamwork-oriented, yet more characteristics that reflect the Lewis & Clark community and make the River Otter an outstanding choice for our new mascot.

Sharing our River Otter design is a significant moment in Lewis & Clark’s history, and a meaningful way to look to the future and celebrate our community.