Nigel Sprowell, from the Holt Island Nature Reserve Friends group, confirms we are receiving visits from an exciting nocturnal animal.
Have you ever seen an otter?
They are elusive and not easy to spot – but they are here in the St Ives area, and regularly using the river Great Ouse between Houghton and Needingworth.
And probably further up and down the valley as well.
How do we know this?
There has been plenty of evidence along the riverbank with the remains of Chinese mitten crabs, for example, an invasive species, and an otter delicacy it seems.
There have also been occasional sightings of the animals themselves, and usually of a mum with pups.
We also find their footprints in the mud.
And, with the use of our trail cameras, we have exciting video footage of these amazing animals and their antics.
Visit https://www.holtisland.org/wildlifenew/ to see these.
Recent surveys suggest that the otter population in the county is now doing well.
Otters are at the top of their food chain and so, if they are healthy and increasing in numbers locally, it means that the river Great Ouse and its ecosystem is also healthy.
They can breed at any time of the year with an average litter of two cubs.
The young stay with their mother for about twelve months, and a female will reach breeding age at two years.
Wild otters rarely live beyond five years, but in captivity have lived for up to fifteen years.
Otters are nocturnal.
They can live on many types of waterways and wetlands and love damp, wooded habitat and reedbeds, just like that on Holt Island.
They prefer good bankside cover for resting up during the day, ideally with areas of dense scrub and log piles.
We also have both!
And, in an attempt to increase the appeal of our excellent natural habitat even further, we recently added an artificial otter holt to encourage a safe breeding site for a prospecting female.
Want to know more?
Come along to our meeting on July 17 at 7pm in the Corn Exchange, St Ives, and hear our speaker’s talk on otters.
Have you got a story you want to share with us? Get in touch at: newsdesk@huntspost.co.uk.
Share