Otters make a remarkable comeback
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25th February, 2008
EADT 24, Ipswich, Suffolk, UK
 JUST 20 years ago the otter population of Essex was nearly extinct, but it seems their numbers are going from strength to strength.
According to the Essex Wildlife Trust, latest surveys show the county's otter population is now “healthy and stable”.
The results from 2007 have been welcomed as “encouraging” by the man in charge and are a far cry from the mid 1980s when surveys indicated the population had been wiped out.
The decline was attributed to a drop in habitat quality and contamination from insecticides that lead to poor reproductive success.
The otter survey was carried out by volunteers looking for footprints and otter droppings, known as spraints, in 252 different locations.
Last year 29% of checks showed positive signs of otters, up from exactly a quarter in 2006.
Darren Tansley, water for wildlife officer at the trust said he was pleased with the outcome.
He said: “The 2007 survey shows a marked improvement on the previous year and this can only be good news for such a stunning mammal.
“We rely heavily on volunteers to help us establish otter numbers and we are very grateful to our team of surveyors for their help.
“We are keen for the public to make us aware if they do see an otter or fields signs, as this may be a new location for us to record”.
Surveying for otters began in 1996 by Essex University and from 2003 to 2006 was carried out by The Essex Biodiversity Project. Last year was the first time the survey was carried out by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
The information gathered from the annual survey is used to understand otter distribution, habitat requirements and their success in colonising new areas in Essex.
Reintroduction programmes have helped to encourage otter numbers across the country and the Otter Trust's Earsham Centre near Bungay, Suffolk was closed in 2006 after the breeding programme was so successful it was no longer needed.
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