Dave at kelton Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Finally caught up with the otters whilst out walking today Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TIGHTCHOKE Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Lucky you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Walker570 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Brilliant. Had them on our river for about five of the years I was managing it, saw the occasional bulge in the water and signs of them coming and going but never a sighting like that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
billytheghillie Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Lovely pics Dave, they are a common occurrence on my river, fact think there is too many of them. In the morning i usually see them playing on our wooden jetty. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlaserF3 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/19062426.otter-secures-lunch-fantastic-snap-along-river-kent-kendal/ This was taken in the middle of Kendal, there was a photo of one last week with a live Mallard in it's jaws. Edited February 7 by BlaserF3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marsh man Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Great photos , I find them very elusive and go ages without seeing one , at low tide I have seen there prints with the tell tail sign of a mark in the mud just behind there back feet , this would be where the tail slide over mud , I did see one a few weeks ago that was cleaning itself while sitting on a dead branch in a pond , every so often it slid in the water , took a dive and then ended up on the branch again . There was a bit in our local paper where one was found dead in an illegal fish trap , apart from human interference there is very little that will keep there numbers under control and although lovely to see , the day might come where they will be out of control . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blackbird Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Very good pics 👍 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scully Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) It’s good to see them back in our river ( the Eden ) too. I used to see them quite often when our fly fishing, but not everyone likes them around. While out rough shooting some years ago we bumped into a bloke fishing ( on the Eden again ) and he said he wouldn’t mind if we shot them. We just smiled and wandered on. Edited February 7 by Scully Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storm in a teacup Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I see a couple quite often on the annan while I'm walking my dogs, love to see them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blackbird Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 2 minutes ago, Scully said: It’s good to see them back in our river ( the Eden ) too. I used to see them quite often when our fly fishing, but not everyone likes them around. While out rough shooting some years ago we bumped into a bloke fishing ( on the Eden again ) and he said he wouldn’t mind if we shot them. We just smiled and wandered on. You should have shot him **** 🤬🤬🤬 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JDog Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I went to the last ever meet of the Bell Irving Otter hounds in Dumfriesshire. They do a lot of damage to wildlife but I can name many others which are just as destructive. The last time I saw one was on the river Wye. The hairs on the back of my neck were raised. It was a great sight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scully Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 29 minutes ago, blackbird said: You should have shot him **** 🤬🤬🤬 🙂 It’s funny how those with nothing to lose suggest we could shoot things. I’ve been asked by more than one farmer to ‘get rid’ of certain pests. ‘You shut em son, we’ll get rid of em’. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tonker Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Playing Devil's advocate, My B-I-L has them coming to his match fishing lakes. They a gradually clearing his specimen carp lake. many thousands of pounds worth have gone. He's at his wits end. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WalkedUp Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I’ve had a little family of otters come out of the water whilst I was stood next to a tree with the dogs flight lining pigeons. My young dog wanted them badly but just about held fast. Was lovely to watch them roll about on the bank, suddenly the biggest (mother?) spotted that they were within yards if us and sort of hissed at us. The three of them dropped into the river and bobbed away. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eddoakley Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 One of those creatures that I love to see (very rarely unless you know where) but also understand how destructive they are. Difficult balance between nature and man but in this case I hope for a nature win. Most places can deal with a few others around and like anything else they could be kept in check. Edd Quote Link to post Share on other sites
billytheghillie Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 One year i found a carcass of a mink, its skin was rolled up from rear to the head and insides dined on, i have found salmon carcasses the same way and have watched otters dining on them. As they are territorial i think the mink came across a otter and that was that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oscarsdad Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) As a mad keen angler as well as shooting / stalking I get really frustrated with anglers moaning about otters and saying we should be killing them. Usually it’s the lads after big barbel - usually barbel which have grown artificially large through the amount of carp style feed going into rivers or commercial carp puddles - what do you expect if you dig a hole in the ground near where otters live and then fill it with fat carp that can’t escape? The otters were there first and the natural balance will be found, the off dead barbel isn’t a big deal, there are plenty about. Edited February 7 by oscarsdad Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blackbird Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I have only ever seen two otters in the wild fabulous sight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
henry d Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 We have seen more this year than ever, in fact I would say I have seen more this year than the rest of my life. Due to Covid we have been walking more and during the summer we started to see them during the day, presumably because they need to feed the kits. River height was also important, higher water meant xyz areas lower ABC areas. We also saw more kingfisher too, one memorable moment was a vertical take off, momentary hover and a dive... stunning. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wigeon jim Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Otters are responsible for clearing goose and duck roosts around parts of Scotland, nothing nice about otters! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scully Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 15 minutes ago, wigeon jim said: Otters are responsible for clearing goose and duck roosts around parts of Scotland, nothing nice about otters! Quite; it’s tooth and nail out there and everything has to eat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MirokuMK70 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) Wonderful creatures and id love to actually see one, ive found their signs many times while fishing - even now on my local canal. Trouble with otters is when food is plentiful they are wasteful. A bit like a fox in a hen run, they will kill a specimen size fish just eat the tasty squishy bits, leave the rest and then go out to catch another one. For a fishery owner they are your worst nightmare as you cannot do a single effective thing to stop them. Edited February 7 by MirokuMK70 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oowee Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Plenty around here. I had one in the NV scope a few months back thinking it was something else. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
figgy Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Fishing lads hate them in the river Tees, they congregate at the fish ladder where the barrage is. Also further up the Tees in some nice fishing spots. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
leeds chimp Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Should go on the general licence... The amount of damage they do Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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