Otter sightings?

[Dave]

Was on the River Wharfe, Sunday evening.
[Wont post where]
At around sunset, a huge dog otter appeared, over four feet in length. It was only about 15 feet away, came out from behind some trees, and slipped into the water.
It didnt spot me, so I had the chance to watch it for a few minutes.
Great sight.
Biggest one Ive seen.

 

[JonathanD]

It's amazing when they suddenly appear. Sometimes they make so much noise you can't miss them, at othe times they appear right by you before you know they are there.

 

[Harvestman]

That happened to me too. Walking a field, into the wind, came across and enormous dog otter asleep in the sun on the track. The wind covered the noise of my approach, so I was stood about a dozen feet away. Watched it for ages before it decided to have a look round. Ever seen an otter look startled?!

I've seen a few, but that was the best.

 

[rik_uk3]

I saw one on the bank of a river smack in the middle of Aberdare town a few months ago; sign of clean water I'm told.

 

[Shewie]

I saw a couple from my canoe up at Loch Sween last November, just managed to see them as they slid into the water and vanished.

 

[Dave]

You could always send a grid reference to these people:

http://www.otter.org/

I have in the past, and they add the sightings to their database.

 

[pango]

I visited a lochan a few days ago where my daughter said she'd got out of the car and an otter went loping past her. I didn't see an otter but there are runs in the undergrowth all around the loch and one or two conspicuous looking slides.

They're always a delight to see and have recovered well in my area in the last decade or so. I took a canoe trip down the river Eden, Fife last year and saw two in two days, almost 10 miles apart. I also see them quite often on the west coast and was surprised to realise that they're creatures of habit, noting one in particular to appear at the same stage of the morning tides up until about 10 am.