Otter

A week or so ago a few signs appeared locally that indicated an otter had been visiting.

On the river bank there were a couple of piles of fish scales and on a branch that overhung the river was a pile of spraint.

Otter spraint (poo) contains fish scales, bones and other undigested food. It apparently smells of Jasmin tea but also quite fishy.

As otters are protected as a European protected species (EPS) and are also protected under sections 9 and 11 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offence to capture, kill, disturb or injure otters (on purpose or by not taking enough care), or to
damage or destroy a breeding or resting place (deliberately or by not taking enough care) I thought the best way to confirm the presence of an otter was to use a trail camera.

Otters can have territories or ranges that can vary between 2km and 20 km depending on the availability of food so it was fingers crossed that the otter was going to appear on camera.

After a couple of tries I was really pleased to find the trail camera caught an otter passing by.

You can find out more about my photography and my local patch in Get Your Boots On

Available from Amazon

About Alex White - Appletonwild

This is my diary of the wildlife where I live in Oxfordshire, and sometimes the places I visit. My passion is for British wildlife, especially Badgers and Hares. This year my debut book "Get Your Boots On" was published I am a keen amateur photographer. All the photographs on this blog are taken by myself unless stated otherwise. I am a member of A Focus on Nature, the network for Young Nature Conservationists, BBOWT, The Oxon Mammal group and The Oxfordshire Badger Group. You can also follow me on Twitter @Appletonwild Instagram appletonwild
This entry was posted in Animals, Blogging, Bushnell, Environment, mammals, nature, outdoors, trail camera, Uk nature, Uncategorized, Wildlife and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

8 Responses to Otter

  1. Anonymous says:

    really cute otter

    Like

  2. Geri Lawhon says:

    Great catch on the camera. My brother-in-law has used one many times and I have seen many deer, possums and turkeys, but never an otter.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Lili says:

    So cool, I love otters!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I am going to share this blog on my https://www.facebook.com/whatisazebra/ page on 12th March 2021 – thanks for sharing

    Liked by 1 person

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