OTTER: fighting back to reclaim old haunts

STRONG, streamlined, and equipped with powerful webbed feet, otters are the master fishermen of those waterways where they still hunt.

Males are the larger of the sexes, measuring over 4ft from their inquisitive noses to the tips of their thick, muscular tails.

When diving, otters reduce their oxygen requirement by slowing down their heartbeats.

They can stay underwater for four minutes at a time and have been known to cover 400 metres without resurfacing.

They can also see as clearly below water as above and use stiff bristles on their snouts to search for food in murky conditions.

All these facts only added to my surprise when it was revealed otters had actually been among the worst-hit wildlife victims of flooding in the UK. Faced with the threat of rapidly rising flood water, sleek, hardy otters might have been expected to cope easily.

But in reality their swimming skills only added to their problems as they became disorientated by swollen rivers overflowing into urban areas. Many otters were thought to have perished after being struck by vehicles while some young cubs simply drowned in their bankside dens or 'holts'.

In London, up to a third of the semi-aquatic creatures were feared dead after their refuges along the Thames became swamped.

Icy conditions which followed the floods hardly helped those that remained.

It seemed ironic that conservationists, who had worked so hard to re-establish this shy predator in the capital, had Mother Nature to thank for setting their efforts back.

Despite this, national numbers have been showing a steady resurgence as various schemes bring the otter back from the edge of extinction in many regions.

The Mammal Society says:"In the late 1950s and early 1960s otters underwent a sudden and catastrophic decline throughout much of Britain. The cause was probably the combined effects of pollution and habitat destruction, particularly the drainage of wet areas.

"While otters completely disappeared from the rivers of most of central and southern England in just 50 years, their future now looks much brighter. There is evidence that in certain parts of the UK the otter is extending its range and may be increasing locally.

"However there is no room for complacency. Otter populations in England are very fragmented and the animals breed only slowly."

In Scotland, where most British otters are still found, females generally give birth in the summer months.

But in England, otter cubs can be born throughout the year - a fact which made many unfortunate young especially vulnerable to winter floods.

Pop star bride Madonna might not be the only one to benefit by doing things the Scottish way.

A change in habit could help English otters continue their rise up the charts, too.