The Otter is Britain’s largest member of the Weasel Family , leading an amphibious lifestyle in our rivers, lakes and river estuaries. By the 1960s they were on the verge of extinction due to river pollution, habitat loss and hunting. Now with legal protection, cleaner rivers and managed habitat it is returning to former haunts with a slow but steady population growth.

The male otter ( dog ) and the female ( bitch ) have large lungs and can stay submerged under water for 4 minutes, often swimming 400 metres before resurfacing. They can reach speeds of 10 miles per hour under water and can easily out run a man on land.

The males occupy large ranges, which may include up to 20 km of river bank and daily travel long distances along regular routes by the margins of the river. The young or cubs are normally born in the spring and arrive in the world blind and dependant on their mother, suckling for up to 6 months. The mother normally cares for the cubs alone, living in a nest or holt , lined with grass and bedding. The young don’t normally take to the water until they are 3 – 4 months old.

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