• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Angling Times otter article

Phil Nixon said:
We had an otter a couple of years ago walk into a garden centre in the middle of the day.
Click to expand...
It was looking for some dahlias to put out the back of its holt!
 
Hi men ,

I know someone with a lake in the Thames valley that chased them around the swims with a landing net pole in the evenings 😕. I say "them" because he had multiple sightings around it , fences went up 🙄.

Hatter
 
Rhys, I think its down to people questioning the number of tame Otter around with them not being legally released into the Wild since the 1990's, (someone correct me if the date is incorrect). I think they they can release injured and recovered Otter or Cubs found ,raised and returned back into the wild . In recent years there does seem to be a number of abandoned Cubs being found, raised and released by Wildlife trusts. Is this possibly another way unscrupulous individuals are circumventing the official stance. Keeping a pair of captive Otter, breeding them then 'finding' the cubs in an area with a low Otter population. I saw one Wildlife Trust with two of these Cubs claiming that each one cost £5000 to raise and then seeking the money via donations. Otter and especially cubs seem to be the one species the public want to see so its potentially a real money spinner.
 
Last edited:
That just sounds like conspiracy nonsense.
It must be difficult for new otters to find any territory away from humans in most places, and seeing as the vast majority of people are not a threat, it's not really a surprise that they appear tame. Even more so if people feed them, you can encourage wild animals to your back door every day if you feed them, you wouldn't then think 'they must be hand reared'.
Try giving one a nice cuddle and see how tame they are!
 
Graham Elliott said:
Joe.
With any introduction or re introduction of species, what we always seem to see is an initial spurt.

As per barbel in the Severn, crayfish, and other types of mammals....rabbits in Oz for example.

This happens until a balance gets achieved according to environmental factors, available food etc.

Otter expansion has been fast. Obvious from the sightings now being made.

There will eventually be a balance achieved, but meanwhile they have a serious affect on fish populations. More so due to the Eel numbers.
Click to expand...
And I need to ask; were otters ever so common as they are now, in the past?
 
Mark Swaby said:
Rhys, I think its down to people questioning the number of tame Otter around with them not being legally released into the Wild since the 1990's, (someone correct me if the date is incorrect). I think they they can release injured and recovered Otter or Cubs found ,raised and returned back into the wild . In recent years there does seem to be a number of abandoned Cubs being found, raised and released by Wildlife trusts. Is this possibly another way unscrupulous individuals are circumventing the official stance. Keeping a pair of captive Otter, breeding them then 'finding' the cubs in an area with a low Otter population. I saw one Wildlife Trust with two of these Cubs claiming that each one cost £5000 to raise and then seeking the money via donations. Otter and especially cubs seem to be the one species the public want to see so its potentially a real money spinner.
Click to expand...
Read Dr Bruno Broughton otter paper for official release dates...
 
Well these are from his otters-the facts paper:

"Otter Activity and People
In fresh waters, otters are mainly active from dusk to dawn, when most people are
unlikely to see them. Activity of coastal otters is linked to the state of the tide, and they
can often be seen during the day. Even on rivers activity in daylight is becoming more
common. This reflects not only their increasing distribution but may also show that,
with the lack of persecution, otters are becoming less wary of people. Habituation to
people may result in some individuals being more approachable, but these are not tame
animals."

"Release of Rehabilitated Otters
A few orphaned and injured otters are taken into care by the RSPCA and other wildlife
rehabilitation centres each year. The RSPCA has developed a protocol for the care and
release of these animals which has been agreed with the Otter Biodiversity Action Plan
(BAP) Steering Group (see below). Other rehabilitation centres are encouraged to follow
these guidelines.
There is a legal requirement to return these animals to the wild once they are fit for
release. Cubs may be kept for over 12 months as they need to be mature enough to
fend for themselves before release. The numbers involved are very small compared to
the numbers of wild otters now present – on average less than ten otters a year.
Releases should be as near as possible to where they were found, but pairs of cubs
found in different locations that are later reared together may go back to the point of
origin of one of them. There is no programme of using rehabilitated otters to colonise
currently vacant catchments."
 
I'm not sure I buy into huge numbers of illegal releases. Statistically there MUST have been at least a few released on the quiet over the years - I don't think anyone can suggest it's impossible for that to have happened - but I can't believe that hundreds or thousands of them were released illegally, or that the population now stems from enormous numbers of illegal releases.

What I CAN believe, though, is that at some point - probably more than once, and maybe it's still happening now - there have been releases that were given an official and legal okay and thumbs up, but with no advice or oversight on numbers or location, and carried out by animal rehabilitators that didn't have any particular specific otter knowledge. I can absolutely believe that - released in good faith but without a clue as to potential impact.
 
Rhys Perry said:
That just sounds like conspiracy nonsense.
It must be difficult for new otters to find any territory away from humans in most places, and seeing as the vast majority of people are not a threat, it's not really a surprise that they appear tame. Even more so if people feed them, you can encourage wild animals to your back door every day if you feed them, you wouldn't then think 'they must be hand reared'.
Try giving one a nice cuddle and see how tame they are!
Click to expand...
Very well said Rhys, and it goes (or it should do) without saying that if our rivers are in a state of poor health with recruitment, that meeting of humans and animals becomes ever more prevalent.
 
Chris Guy said:
And I need to ask; were otters ever so common as they are now, in the past?
Click to expand...
....and that Chris, to me, is the $100,000 question. The 'on-script' message put about by the Otter Trust etc is ...
"The otter population is now slowly recovering to a level of the past, those Halcion days of a countryside idyll (due to kind donations, and our efforts) But in the past, ever in the past, were otters seen running through towns, along quay sides, in garden centres?
Things are not always what they appear to be (think lemmings?).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top