The Otter Games
CNC 2026 Baton Rouge Region Team Contest
Join us in a team challenge for some local competition and a fun outlet for participants to feed their creativity and motivation while making observations and increasing our observation quality and species count in the 2026 City Nature Challenge: Baton Rouge Region.
This contest is modeled after the CNC Team Tournament created by the 2025 City Nature Challenge national champions, San Antonio, Texas - an inspiration to us all for environmental outreach and citizen science.
All nature enthusiasts, ages 13 and up, are welcome to join the Otter Games during the global City Nature Challenge, April 24-27, 2026.
Gather your team, register, and start making observations during the City Nature Challenge - it's easy! Free! Registration Form: https://forms.gle/1ZiRgZo8yR7dnwvo6
How to Participate:
Register a team with 1-5 players and a cool nature name, like the Rattlesnake Masters. Or sign up as a Free Agent to be assigned to a team and meet new friends.
Take photos and/or sound recordings of wild organisms during the contest period, April 24-27, 2026.
Upload your photos and/or sound recordings of wild organisms taken April 24-27, 2026 as observations in the iNaturalist app or iNaturalist.org website before midnight May 8, 2026.
Watch your progress in your team’s iNaturalist project and the iNaturalist Otter Games umbrella project which will be created after teams register.
Tips:
Strategize methods, habitats, time of day, and locations to find a variety of species.
Strategize whether to split up or not while making observations.
Quality photos and recordings that are cropped and in-focus will improve identification results.
Including multiple photos of your organism from different angles will improve identification results.
Quality observations will improve identification results.
Different species are active at different times of day and night.
Note that the City Nature Challenge is not just on the weekend - it runs 4 days and 4 nights!
City Nature Challenge and Otter Games Links:
Otter Games umbrella project and participating team projects: TBA
Local City Nature Challenge website
Global City Nature Challenge website
Baton Rouge Region City Nature Challenge iNaturalist project, map and regional observations
Facebook page for the Baton Rouge Region City Nature Challenge
2026 Otter Games Rules
iNaturalist observation of a North American River Otter spotted at Bayou Lacombe. Photo CC-BY Jody Shugart.
All participants must be familiar with and be willing to comply with all City Nature Challenge (CNC) and Otter Games rules.
All rules are subject to revisions. We reserve the right to cancel the contest on April 22 if registrations are low.
The Basics
The 2026 Otter Games is open to all nature enthusiasts, 13 years old and older.
All participants must have an active iNaturalist user account and use the iNaturalist Next app, iNaturalist Classic app, and/or the iNaturalist.org website to submit observations.
The deadline for teams to complete registrations is April 22, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CST. Registration Form: https://forms.gle/1ZiRgZo8yR7dnwvo6
The contest will start at 12:01am Friday, April 24 and end at 11:59pm, Sunday, April 27, 2026, the same range as the official City Nature Challenge.
Take photos and/or sound recordings of wild organisms during the contest period, April 24-27, 2026.
Upload your photos and/or sound recordings of wild organisms that were taken April 24-27, 2026 as “observations” in the iNaturalist app(s) or iNaturalist.org website before midnight May 8, 2026.
Observations should be of wild organisms. No landscaping plants, pets, zoo animals, humans, etc.
Casual observations will not count.
The final count will be obtained from www.iNaturalist.org according to the rules and regulations applying to iNaturalist.org.
Final results will be announced by May 11.
Summary of Dates
Registration closes 11:59 p.m. CST April 22
The contest photo-taking period starts 12:01am Friday, April 24 and ends at 11:59pm Monday, April 27.
Optional: Identification period and extra time to upload your observations April 28 through May 8.
The contest ends at midnight May 8.
Final results will be announced on or before May 11.
Geographic Area
Observations are only valid within the Baton Rouge Region City Nature Challenge competition area in Southeast Louisiana. The official map can be found in the iNaturalist project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026-baton-rouge-region.
Observations can be obscured for privacy, if desired.
Observations can be obtained from public land and private land, if you have permission to do so.
Teams
Teams will consist of a minimum of one member and maximum of five members.
Captains may request an iNaturalist training walk during the month of March.
Each team will be provided an iNaturalist team project that will also be linked to the 2026 Otter Games umbrella project.
Non-team member scouts are not permitted.
No photos or observations made by non-team members.
Passive photography devices, such as trail cameras and bird feeder cameras are allowed, if deployed and operated by team members.
Prize Categories
2026 Species: The team with the highest total number of Species.
2026 Research Grade: The team with the highest total number of Research Grade Observations.
2026 Otter Spotter: Any team(s) that post an observation of a North American River Otter. Only the animal will count. Scat, prints, etc. will not count.
Prizes are TBA.
Sportsmanship & Safety
The overall purpose of the Otter Games and the City Nature Challenge is to document the biodiversity of our region. No “tricks” to increase counts and identifications will be tolerated.
We ask that you make identifications only when you are sure of the actual identification, and to not to blindly agree or push through identifications in order to increase your count.
Avoid duplicating observations of the same organism , if possible.
Be safe. Wear appropriate footwear and clothing for the outdoors and the weather, and carry essentials like water, sunscreen, insect repellent, and a charged phone.
Do not harrass wildlife or people and follow the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace when making observations.
The Otter Games and the Baton Rouge Region City Nature Challenge are organized by the Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge. Contact Amber King at with questions or tag @amberenergy in iNaturalist.