Wigginton resident Stuart Shaw is warning others to check their ponds after around 20 of his fish were taken throughout last week.

He said just one “traumatised” fish remains after the suspected otter managed to enter the pond in his rear garden in Bell Close and take the rest.

Stuart, 75, first found half eaten fish on his garden lawn next to the pond last Monday (April 20) which led him to believe that an otter was responsible.

“I thought at first it was a cat but then thought it can’t be,” he said.

One half eaten fish found on Stuart Shaw’s Wigginton home which he suspects an otter is responsible for (Image: Stuart Shaw)

The lone koi fish that remains in the pond after the others were eaten by a suspected otter (Image: Sue Shaw)

Stuart, who has lived in Bell Close since 1993, has not seen an otter in the area before but said there have been reports from other residents.

He thinks an otter could have come to his pond from the nearby Westfield Beck or from lakes off York Road in Haxby, which are around a kilometre away.

Stuart urged other people with fish in the area to “double check your ponds” and ensure they are covered.

The Press reported in March 2023 that Haxby resident David Findlay also blamed otters for his fish stocks being decimated in recent years.

According to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, there are around 11,000 otters in the UK – people often assume there are more, but a male can occupy up to 30km of river as a single territory. It is hard to estimate numbers just in York for that reason.

The trust said any work done to deter otters must be done under licence from the Environment Agency.

Stuart said very few homes in the Bell Close area have ponds so he thinks an otter could have been attracted to his house by the sound of the water filter in its garden.  

“Once it’s [the otter] found it [the pond], it’s been a bit of a bonanza for it,” he said.

Stuart suspects the remaining fish in his pond, a 15-inch koi worth an estimated £300, would have been too large for an otter to take.

“It’s probably too big for the otter – I don’t know,” Stuart said. “We’ve had that [fish] for about 23 years. And now he’s just swimming round on his own, traumatised.”

Stuart Shaw next to his pond in Wigginton which he suspects an otter snuck into – and took £1,500 worth of fish from (Image: Dylan Connell)

Sue and Stuart Shaw next to their pond in Wigginton which they suspect an otter snuck into – and took £1,500 worth of fish from (Image: Dylan Connell)

Stuart, a retired railway worker, said he installed netting around the pond after herons attacked fish in the water on two previous occasions.

But he said he did not suspect that herons were behind these incidents, putting them down to an otter crawling through flowers next to the net and entering the pond.

“The way the fish have been eaten, there’s no way it can be anything else [than an otter],” Stuart said. “It’s sneaked under some netting somehow.”

Stuart put more netting around the pond last Monday after finding the dead fish on his lawn.

But, he said, “the next morning [April 21] around 6am, there was another couple of dead fish kicking about [on the lawn]. I was really annoyed then … I did my best in blocking it [the pond] off as I could.”

Stuart was travelling to France on holiday later that day when he said his neighbour phoned to say another fish had been found on the lawn.

And last Wednesday, two more fish were found “chewed up” on the neighbour’s lawn, Stuart said.

Stuart returned home last Saturday – and said another fish was found on his lawn the following day.

On Monday, he said: “I’d seen some water and the other fish had gone.

“There’d been no sign of the fish, apart from little bits on the lawn.”

‘Hard luck that it’s taken our fish’

Stuart has been waiting up early in the morning this week to try and catch the otter – but has not seen anything. “I presume it’s probably gone now,” he said.

If he sees the otter, Stuart said he will be “annoyed with it, that’s all. I’m going to photograph it.

“The thing is, it’s a wild animal, it’s in nature, it’s my hard luck that it’s taken our fish.

“But I’m not going to spruce up the pond this year – I won’t put any more fish in until probably next year.”

David Craven, regional manager of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for East Yorkshire, said: “Spotting an otter in the wild is such a thrill but still a rare experience, as while numbers are recovering and the species is widespread, they remain elusive and spread across large territories.

“If local rivers are not in great condition then otters may be forced to move out to find other sources of food, which can create conflict with people.

“However, it is worth noting that the culprit can often be a case of mistaken identity, as there are far more of the invasive, non-native and similar-looking mink in the UK.

“We need healthy and wilder wetland habitats that support a rich environment of top predators like otters through to fish and dragonflies – and it is possible to restore and create beautiful places that accommodate our need for leisure.”