Otters

An Otterly Wonderful Return A personal perspective of the fall and rise of Otters to our rivers by Will Bowell OTTERS

My first ever Otter was hardly a conventional classic sighting. In fact it wasn’t even the heartracing ‘There it is!’ moment either. I was in southern Spain with my mates, driving along a track towards a place where we had earlier in the day seen several squashed Red-necked Nightjars, hoping to see some more alive looking birds. It was humid and getting towards dusk and our minds were full of anticipation of finding these rare birds sat about on the road, when an Otter ran across the road. And that was that.

I didn’t even realise Otters were in Spain, if I’m honest, and the encounter was such a brief one it barely is worth mentioning compared to the stunning, unforgettable views we had of the Nightjars basking in the dark on the warm tarmac of the track... I digress.

So I still hadn’t seen a memorable Otter. Yet I craved one; always had. I used to love those nature documentaries from Scotland which showed families of Otters chilling among the kelp. Painted as adorable, characterful and playful and yet private, shy and a challenge to see. Challenge accepted!

In spring 2013 news reached my ear (and everyone else’s as well!) of a family of Otters residing in the middle of Thetford town centre in Norfolk. My good friend, Kevin ‘Pinky’ DuRose, had already visit Norfolk’s new favourite family and had been raving about the views, and indeed his photos were extremely good. I was jealous so arranged to meet him on site a few days later.

My word! Adorable, characterful and playful they certainly were, but this family were far from private and shy nor were they a particular challenge! The views were outrageous and the experience was unreal. At one point one, someone who was sat on the river bank with their feet dangling in the water had an Otter on their wellington boot! They were bold and inquisitive to the point of being fearless.

I visited several times over the next few weeks – I was hooked. Each visit was different. Sometimes the mother would show really well, frantically feeding, sometimes the pups would be play fighting and splashing the onlookers, and at other times the atmosphere was much more relaxed with not much activity at all.

Since then I have been lucky to see Otters more and more each year. The wildest of locations is Shetland, where they have become a marine mammal and are bigger with it. They are commonplace in the harbours and casting an eye seaward while waiting for a ferry I usually saw an Otter or two. But of course there is no place like home and now every river in England has Otters on them.

There have been several confiding families around the Deepings with locals reporting them swimming through the centre. Indeed, I have seen them on the Welland whilst enjoying a pint at the back of the Stage.

Of course,30 years ago the mention of an Otter around here was but a rumour. Their return to our waters has been one of the conservation success stories of recent times in Britain. Hunted until the late 1970s, Otter hunts were conducted all over Britain in a similar vein to fox hunting. Coming close to extinction in the mid-20th century, the ban undoubtedly helped Otters on the road to recovery.

The real big issue for Otters was the quality of our rivers. Agricultural chemicals seeping into our rivers decimated the population of fish which in turn led to near collapse in Otter numbers. Indeed many areas saw them become extinct.

Sadly, for some, Otter is a swear word, as fishermen worry about their impact on fish stocks, both natural and commercial. Like all food chains, the top of the chain can only survive in sustainable numbers based on food source. In fact the return of the Otter is a true show of just how healthy our waterways are these days, to be able to sustain such large quantities of fish for the Otters who hunt them. Locally, many fishing gravel pits have seen rather ugly Otter-proof fencing

erected. This is infinitely more preferable than culling them which would definitely be a step backwards.

From my own experiences of Otter, they are quite habitual creatures. Only last winter, I was lucky enough to see one regularly for a few weeks. It would come out to play around lunchtime, swim back to its resting place and then come back out to play around 2pm.

This young male was a bit of an exceptional individual though. He was quite fearless of people and allowed approach of a few metres. For most Otters an early rise is required and they are usually shy beasts that avoid humans.

I love the photo opportunities Otters can present. I love how every encounter is a unique experience. And I feel very lucky that I now see Otters most months and I for one welcome their return. You could even say it is an ‘Otterly’ wonderful return....

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