Otter spotted at Rhyl nature reserve
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27th February, 2008
David Waddington
Rhyll Journal, Rhyll, Denbighshire, Wales, UK
AN OTTER is the unlikely sight greeting visitors to a local nature reserve.
The rare mammal has been spotted by several wildlife lovers and carp fishermen at Brickfields Pond in Rhyl, with experts wondering where it has come from and why it has ended up at the site.
The otter is most active in hours of darkness, with Denbighshire County Council calling for anyone who sees the otter to contact them with information to help establish if it is male or female.
A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said: “It is possible that the visits to Brickfields Pond are temporary and the ot
ter is seeking alternative food whilst the lower reaches of the River Clwyd are in full flood. There are aquatic links between the pond and the River Clwyd via the Rhyl Cut. The preferred diet of the otter is fish, in particular eels, both of which are found in abundance at Brickfields.
“The habitat is of the right type and the food source in abundance but otters are usually notoriously shy and there is a question mark over whether they could cope with the visitor pressure on this busy site.”
The council is now planning to construct an artificial otter holt at the nature reserve to encourage the otter to stay permanently.
A former flooded and derelict clay pit, Brickfields Pond became the first site in North East Wales to be designated a local nature reserve.
It attracts more than 65,000 visitors each year, who see a mixture of protected and vulnerablespecies at the reserve.
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