Otters are returning to over 100 of Britain’s towns and cities for the first time in up to thirty years, according to new statistics published by The Wildlife Trusts. Otters can now be seen in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Carlisle, Leeds, Doncaster, Norwich, Bristol, Canterbury and Cardiff and they are living and breeding in thirteen urban areas.
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Photo © The Wildlife Trusts

Common and widespread in the early 1950s, the otter population declined dramatically from about 1957 onwards, due largely to pollution from farm pesticides and habitat loss. By the late 1970s, the otter was almost extinct in most of England.

Otter numbers have been re-covering in some areas of the country but this is the first time they have been recorded in major urban areas. It is an indication that the quality of our rivers has improved.

Commenting on the news, Dr Simon Lyster, Director General of The Wildlife Trusts, said: “The recovery of the otter is the most exciting success story of the last decade and is a tribute to volunteers and professionals that have worked so hard to make this recovery possible.
Watching otters at play has largely been restricted to remote areas of countryside, but now otters seem set to become a part of urban wildlife too. Important wildlife habitat can exist in urban areas and people are now more likely than ever to be able to catch a glimpse of one of the UK’s most charismatic creatures.”

Whilst the news is good for the recovering otter, its recovery in urban areas brings with it the problems of the built environment, developing riversides and road deaths. Most riverside construction work and development does not make any allowance for the possible presence of otters.
The Wildlife Trusts is calling for local planning authorities, developers and builders to consider their needs.
FURTHER INFORMATION : The Wildlife Trusts Water For Wildlife Project, The Kiln, Waterside, Mather Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1WT. Tel: 0870 036 7711 Fax: 0870 036 0101
WEB SITE : http://​www​.wildlifetrusts​.org​.uk EMAIL: info@​wildlife-​trusts.​cix.​co.​uk