Otters caught on camera

Evidence of otters recolonising West Berkshire waterways was filmed near Hungerford

MORE evidence of how otters are gradually recolonising West Berkshire waterways has been captured by a Newbury Weekly News reader.

It was in 2009 that Jeff Coultas captured video footage of one of the shy creatures in the River Dun near Hungerford.

Now, at the same spot, he has filmed what appears to be an entire family.

In the video clip, a solitary otter is seen swimming with sinuous movements towards the river bank. hops out, closely followed by another and the pair norse around in the undergrowth.

They then slip back into the water - but seconds later what appears to be a third otter then glides into the frame and explores the bank.

Retired electrician, Mr Coultas initially decided to film what was going on in the river because he noticed the disappearance of a large number of fish.

He said: “I noticed some of my fish were disappearing and suspected mink were the culprits, so I set up a video camera to run overnight. Now they've appeared again and this time there are two, possibly three.”

In October last year 13-year-old Kate Gridley spotted an otter near her grandmother's Hungerford home.

Kate, a pupil at St Gabriel's School in Newbury, was walking with her mother Lynette near a small stream near the Hungerford home of her grandmother, Jean Gridley.

Mrs Gridley said: “They both heard a rustling sound and, looking down, saw an otter. Kate was so excited. The otter was wandering about on the bank but, when it heard them, it shot under a bridge.”

An Environment Agency report published a few months ago revealed that the faint splash of an otter gently entering a river, once feared to be lost to England forever, is now increasingly common.

The mammals almost disappeared from England in the 1970s due to the toxic effects of pesticides but conservation projects to clean up waterways have had a positive impact.

Adult otters are solitary, nomadic creatures and very territorial. About 80 per cent of their diet is fish of which they eat around 1kg per day.

They have a particular preference for eels but will also eat frogs, toads, crayfish, waterfowl and even small mammals.

During the daytime they lie in secure resting sites, usually amongst tree roots or dense scrub.

Otters can breed at any time of the year although most cubs are born in winter.

Pregnant females require undisturbed breeding dens, called holts, where cubs will stay until they are three months old.

Unfortunately, the mortality rate for the young is high.

Click on the link above to view the video footage of the otters.