Otters thriving in the UK - Now in every county

Otters are now present in every county of the UK. Credit Elliot Smith.

Otters are bouncing back around the UK
July 2009. Look out next time you are strolling along your local riverbank - otters are making a comeback in the UK and are now present in every English county.

In the 1970s otter populations in the UK plummeted and otters were threatened with extinction. Now, thanks to decades of truly dedicated work to restore habitat- among other things - otter numbers are recovering.

Although the signs are good that otters are faring better in the UK, there is still work to be done. Fran Southgate, Rivers Project officer at Sussex Wildlife Trust, said: "The four English surveys which have measured otter's progress since 1978 show a steady spread from the strongholds of Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. A fifth survey, due next year, is likely to show even more success as the 'pioneering wave' of recolonising otters is consolidated by a slower-arriving main population.

Lowland England habitat is degraded
"There are still problems, of course. Much of lowland England is home to fragmented, degraded wetland and riverside habitat, unsuitable for otters to recolonise. The Wildlife Trusts are working with landowners and other partners on large-scale habitat restoration projects, to create A Living Landscape for wildlife and people, which will help otters regain some ground.

Wildlife Trusts have been spotting signs of otters in all kinds of locations:

• Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has reported regular sightings of otters to City Mill in the centre of Winchester
• Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust has reported their first otter at Hungerford Marsh Reserve
• London Wildlife Trust has found otter prints in west London
• Devon Wildlife Trust has otters visiting its headquarters in inner-city Exeter
• A Tees Valley Wildlife Trust project has photographed an otter in a Middlesborough garden.

To find out more about otter recovery, as well as the history of bird ringing, how to build a green roof, and some fun suggestions for getting out and about on the UK coast, see the 2009 summer edition of Natural World.

You can read all about this, and more, in the latest (summer 2009) issue of Natural World, the UK magazine for members of The Wildlife Trusts Natural World takes you through a history of their decline and recovery, and brings you up close and personal images which prove these elusive mammals are popping up everywhere from rural retreats to urban gardens.