A social media post made on Saturday, February 21 celebrating the sighting of an otter in a Saltaire canal sparked strong responses among commenters.
While some were pleased to see an otter back in Shipley’s waters, others feared that the creature would decimate fishing stocks.
But it turns out seeing an otter in Bradford district is nothing extraordinary – it was around 15 years ago that otters had successfully returned to every county in England.
The Saltaire celebrity (Image: Adam Clarke Photography)
Driven to extinction in the 70s
Otters were near enough driven to extinction in the 1970s, but efforts to restore rivers and protect the species ensured the survival of the species in Britain.
Their decline was attributed to the pollution of waterways with harmful pesticides and rapid habitat loss caused by changes in land management.
The T&A went to the Otter Trust to get some facts on the reintroduction of the semiaquatic species to Britain’s waterways.
Another shot of the otter (Image: Paul Sugden)
A good sign for a wetland
The Otter Trust, a trusted UK charity that supports the conservation of wetland species and habitats worldwide, said: “The Otter is the apex predator of our wetlands and a healthy otter population, is usually a good sign for a wetland.
“The only official otter reintroductions took place in Southern England in the 1990s, with a small number being added alongside existing populations.
“Otters do occasionally cause issues for garden pond owners, but as a general rule, they prefer to be in a ‘wild’ wetland habitat.”
Otters eat rats. rabbits, water birds, amphibians, and fish (Image: Paul Sugden)
Are otters threatening fish stocks?
“Fish stocks are threatened by flooding and pollution, the otter has always been the barometer for river heath and the catastrophic decline in river species of the 1950-1970s was only detected when agricultural chemicals were found within carcasses of otters,” the spokesperson added.
“Otters have a very large territory and prey on a wide range of species that included mammals such as rats and rabbits to water birds, amphibians, and fish.
“A bigger threat to our wetland wildlife are the introduced American Mink, a species that has caused regional extinctions for species such as Water Voles.”
Otters need the fish to survive, anglers don’t
Saltaire resident Damian Tapper, 46, is pleased to see otters back in Bradford district’s waterways.
He said: “It’s such a pleasure to be seeing otters back on the waterways.
“When I was younger they were almost made extinct in the UK so to see them now is extra special.
“I’m sure anglers aren’t too happy but the otters need the fish to survive, anglers don’t.
“When we see so much bad news regarding wildlife it’s great to see at least one species doing well that bring joy to a lot of people.”