Photographer Linda Johnson couldn’t believe her luck when she snapped the otter swimming in the River Coquet
An otter eating a crab in the River Coquet, Northumberland(Image: Linda Johnson / SWNS)
A photographer has captured these impressive pictures of a hungry otter catching a giant crab for breakfast in Northumberland. The peckish mammal was spotted struggling to drag its freshly caught meal through the water while finding a safe spot to eat.
Photographer Linda Johnson couldn’t believe her luck when she snapped the otter swimming in the River Coquet, in Northumberland earlier this month. The otter was seen dragging the crab before using its teeth to break the creatures shell.
An otter eating a crab in the River Coquet, Northumberland(Image: Linda Johnson / SWNS)
The 71-year-old photographer said the river was the perfect hunting ground for the otter. Linda said: “It looks evil, it looks a really nasty thing in the pictures. But they are lovely.
“It was in the river, a secret location. It’s to stop people coming down and trying to find them.”
An otter eating a crab in the River Coquet, Northumberland(Image: Linda Johnson / SWNS)
Linda added: “There does seem to be a lot of otters this year. I hadn’t seen one in 13 years, but then I managed to capture this greedy one. It was Monday, we were down there nice and early from 8.30am. We’ve seen it a couple of times now, it’s just a matter of time of waiting.
“I never knew they ate crabs, I think it’s very hard work to bite through them. Someone said they eat it all, including the shell – I thought they spat it out.”
“It’s only one otter popping up to you, there aren’t really that many out there. As soon as it finishes one crab, it goes off and fetches another.”