![\""Otter\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2019\/03\/Otter-881ce48.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"European\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What is an otter?<\/h2>\n
The European otter, or l<\/em><\/span>utra lutra<\/em> (scientific name), is a carniverous mammal of the Mustelidae family (mustelid). There are seven species of mustelid<\/a>\u00a0living in the wild in the UK, each varying widely in looks and behaviour. Generally speaking mustelids are long-bodied, short-legged, thickly furred and tend to be active at night, which makes them elusive.<\/span><\/p>\n Otters are adapted to life on both land and in water. They have webbed feet for swimming, dense fur for warmth, and can close their ears and nose underwater.\u00a0<\/span>The otter is a fish hunter, though it happily eats waterbirds, amphibians<\/a> and crustaceans too, including American signal crayfish. At 8kg, it is our second-largest mustelid and is becoming increasingly common in our rivers and lakes as its numbers rebound after centuries of persecution.<\/p>\n Related articles<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Otters seek clean rivers<\/a>, filled with food and overgrown banks where they can raise their cubs. Their favourite habitats include wetlands, rivers and coastlines. Though still considered rare, the species is widespread in the UK and can be seen in almost every county. For the best chance of spotting an otter, head to Scotland, the west coast of Wales, East Anglia and South West England.<\/p>\n Otters make burrows underground to rear their young. An otter\u2019s home is\u00a0known as a \u2018holt\u2019.<\/p>\n A group of otters is known as a \u2018romp\u2019 or \u2018lodge\u2019. Otter groups are also referred to as a \u2018bevy\u2019 or a \u2018family\u2019.<\/p>\n The otter\u2019s diet is mostly made up of fish, particularly eels and salmonids (salmon, trout, chars, and graylings), though it happily eats waterbirds such as coots and moorhens if given the chance. Amphibians\u00a0are added to the menu in spring, and otters will also eat crustaceans, including American signal crayfish.<\/p>\n Otters breed all year round and you are as likely to see one in the depths of winter as you are at the height of summer.<\/p>\n Twenty-five years ago, The English otter population was on the brink of extinction after half a century of agricultural chemicals leaching into the rivers and polluting the food chain. Thankfully, following the ban of these chemicals in the early 1990s, water quality increased and the slow-road to recovery began. Fish populations returned to the rivers and lakes, and as a result you are more likely to see an otter today than at any time in the past sixty years.<\/p>\n The revival of the otter (Lutra lutra<\/em>) across Britain has been one of the great conservation successes of the past 50 years. Having been threatened with extinction in the late 1950\u2019s, numbers have slowly recovered, and following a ban on hunting in 1978 and improvements to river quality, otters can now be found in every British county.<\/p>\n The otter\u2019s celebrated return to Britain\u2019s rivers isn\u2019t welcomed by everybody. Some commercial fishery owners are concerned that these supreme aquatic hunters are taking prize specimen fish and there have even been calls for otter culls.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t good news for everybody however. Many anglers are anxious of the impact that otters are having on fish stocks, while some fishery owners are concerned for their livelihoods. Otters are efficient hunters, quite capable of catching prey as heavy as themselves, but are they really a threat to our fish stocks? After all, a healthy ecology should support both predator and prey.<\/p>\n A rise in predator population will normally force a short term drop in prey species, and on rivers where otters have only recently colonised the impact can be marked. In some situations, high profile stretches of water have been affected. In recent years, the two biggest known barbel in Britain are believed to have been predated by otters \u2013 both from rivers, The Great Ouse and Ivel, where the mammals have only recently returned.<\/p>\n The owners of managed fisheries cannot afford to wait for this equilibrium however. A thirty pound carp may be forty years old and cannot be easily replaced, and anglers will not be interested in fishing a water that has a depleted stock. Many commercial fisheries are man-made but fed by streams which otters may follow, and a heavily stocked lake is a perfect otter larder.<\/p>\n Some fishery owners have installed fences around their lakes, but are powerless should an otter find its way inside. These mammals are fully protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, meaning it is illegal to capture, kill, disturb or injure an otter, regardless of circumstance.<\/p>\n Over the past two years, a group headed up by the UK Wild Otter Trust<\/a>, the Angling Trust<\/a>, the Predation Action Group<\/a>, and independent fishery owners have been working to address this situation. And as a result, Natural England<\/a> have recently issued the first licence allowing the trapping and removal of otters from within a fenced fishery.<\/p>\n Once caught, the otter will be released immediately outside the fishery boundary causing the animal minimal distress and allowing it to remain on familiar or established territory.<\/p>\n In a world where so many issues become polarised, this is a landmark victory for common sense. For as long as anglers and conservationists can work together and remain proactive, the otter can be a welcome and integral part of our aquatic environment.<\/p>\n Stay quiet. Look out for muddy, semi-circular slides on the side of the river. There may be five-clawed footprints in the dirt where the otters have hauled themselves in and out of the water. Otter droppings, or spraints, are often used to mark territory.<\/p>\n How to track animals in winter<\/a><\/p>\n Otters are elusive, elegant fish hunters but are becoming more common across the UK. But in Shetland, they are seen commonly all round the coast. Join naturalist James Fair as he headed to otter central to record a podcast about otters<\/a> with expert John Campbell.<\/p>\n Visit Shetland<\/a><\/p>\nWhere do otters live?<\/h2>\n
![\""Ben\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2019\/07\/GettyImages-530743427-7f23f2f.jpg?quality=90&resize=617%2C413"\" "\\"\"Ben\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What is an otter\u2019s home called?<\/h2>\n
What is a group of otters called?<\/h2>\n
![\""Otters\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/01\/European-otter-14c2564.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"European\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What do otters eat?<\/h2>\n
![\""Otter\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/01\/GettyImages-468554667-dfce99c-scaled.jpg?quality=90&resize=609%2C413"\" "\\"\"Otter\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>When is the best time to see otters?<\/h2>\n
![\""Otters\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/01\/GettyImages-1170808915-c70b91d-scaled.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"Otters\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>The history of otters in the UK<\/h2>\n
![\""Otter\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/01\/GettyImages-1142065695-24b42e4.jpg?quality=90&resize=608%2C413"\" "\\"\"Otter\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Otter problems and solutions<\/h2>\n
![\""Outskirts\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/01\/GettyImages-842486664-999fe81.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Outskirts\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Otter\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/01\/European-otter-4a1c774.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"European\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Common\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2019\/02\/Common-frog-ca53633.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"Common\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>How to spot otter tracks?<\/h2>\n
Where to spot otters<\/h2>\n
Shetland, Scotland<\/h3>\n
![\""Otter\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2020\/03\/GettyImages-590239095-d5b88b5.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"European\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Bosherston and Stackpole, Pembrokeshire, Wales<\/h3>\n