\n An otter was seen tucking into a crab it had caught on the edge of Mudeford Quay, unfazed by onlookers as it ate its meal out in the open.\n<\/p>\n
\n Robert Griffiths, a fisherman who witnessed the encounter, said: “I’ve never seen one up close like that before.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I normally see him (the otter) in the water, but I’ve never seen it come out on the quay in front of me feeding like that.\n<\/p>\n
\n “He (the otter) really wasn’t bothered about anything down there, he was just scoffing his breakfast down.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Wild otter spotted at Mudeford Quay unfazed by onlookers (Image: Robert Griffiths)\n<\/p>\n
\n Mudeford Quay remains a working hub for the local fishing fleet in Dorset and is known for its authentic, gritty charm.\n<\/p>\n
\n According to the Dorset Wildlife Trust, spotting an otter in Dorset 10 years ago would have been incredibly rare due to their decline from pollution, habitat loss and hunting.\n<\/p>\n
\n However due to conservation efforts, otters have now returned to rivers, streams, and reedbeds across the county.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Griffiths added:\u00a0“To see an otter that close, it’s a really surreal experience, you know, really lovely.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It bought a lot of joy to people to see that.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The trust say otters are more than just a lovely sight, they are “top predators” and a “vital indicator” of ecosystem health.\n<\/p>\n
\n On the trust website, it states the presence of otters suggests clean waterways and strong fish populations.\n<\/p>\n
\n Additionally, these secretive, semi-aquatic mammals had all but vanished from rivers and wetlands, reportedly driven out by pollution, habitat destruction, and hunting.\n<\/p>\n
\n The charity explains that the return of otters is proof that habitat restoration and pollution control can make a difference.\n<\/p>\n
\n The website further states: “A healthy otter population means clean rivers and strong fish stocks.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Protecting otters helps protect a whole host of other species-from water voles and dragonflies to kingfishers and trout.”\n<\/p>\n
\n “Once a ghost of Dorset\u2019s past, the otter is now very much a part of its present and future.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Their return reminds us that even heavily damaged ecosystems can heal with time, effort, and care.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An otter was seen tucking into a crab it had caught on the edge of Mudeford Quay, unfazed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":["post-425134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}