Otters by the River

When I caught this 'family' or 'bevy' of otters on our webcam I was so delighted.

Not only because having these lovely creatures living right next to the house is amazing but it is also as very good sign of other things.

Otters like clean rivers that have plenty of food and coverage along the banks. There is certainly plenty of coverage around our river and you can see plenty of fish swimming around too. It is great to know our local rivers are clean as this is what comes out of our tap eventually. 

The otter on this blurred picture from the webcam has youngsters. Otters burrow underground making a ‘holt’ in which to rear they're young.  Surprisingly they breed all year around so if you are lucky you may see this sight at any time of year. 

Otters are now protected, they were on the brink of extinction not so long ago so it is great now to see them recovering. The ban on chemicals being dumped in the rivers has increased their food source and hence increased their numbers. (Not everyone is so keen on the increase in numbers, but we won’t go into that debate here.)

Although this picture was taken in 2020 the otters are still here and as well as them being sighted there is plenty of evidence around to show they are well fed such as the remains of part eaten fish. 

Let's hope their numbers stay stable and man & beast can find a way to live in harmony.