The Otter Watcher: Otters vanish from view

I've not posted anything since the end of March 2012. This is largely due to the fact that all signs of the Otters, so active over the winter months, have all but vanished. I have occasionally observed the odd spraint here and there but other than these few indications its as if the Otters have either moved on or simply vanished from the landscape.

The weather has obviously been a real problem this year. Following a really dry spell at the beginning of the year, triggering nationwide drought conditions and very early hosepipe bans in many areas, it seems to have rained non stop for months.

What effect this might have on Otters I'm not totally sure however it may well make fishing more challenging as most rivers in the UK are in spate. They are running much faster and are now much deeper than usual this could well make fishing more difficult. Raising young must also be more difficult since teaching youngsters to swim and catch prey in such adverse conditions will also be much more difficult. So too will be finding good holts that are both warm and dry for some protection from the relentless rain.

In addition I think its true that Otters need to spend large amounts of time out of the water getting dry to maintain their body temperature. Since the atmospheric temperatures have also been much lower than usual perhaps this too has been more difficult. Maintaining the condition of their fur such an important element in their hunting must be very difficult.

In Early April I did manage to identify a new area which showed lots of Otter activity and I took a few photos of the area as a record. Its a small ditch really which crosses an area of meadow used to graze cattle and sheep. I guess the ditch must have been dug centuries ago to drain the meadow. It provides a great highway for the Otters since it is clothed in brambles and low trees as well as tall reeds which make it an ideal place to hunt and stay out of sight.