Wild otters show encouraging behaviour
Newly installed otter holts on the River Wear alongside WWT Washington Wetland Centre have had some encouraging signs of use following their installation last year.
The work was funded by Sunderland City Council as part of their New Wear Crossing Project. The grant came as compensation for any loss of wildlife habitat along the river during the construction of the city’s new bridge.
There have been several sightings of wild otters by staff and more encouragingly visitors which is fantastic news.
Visitor Suzanne Taylor spotted the wild otters from Window on the Wear 2 at Washington Wetland Centre last week. Suzanne said, "this was the first time I’d seen wild otters. I was amazed and felt very privileged to have seen them. I’d heard about them being seen on the Wear and about the work that WWT have been doing to help them, but never thought I’d be lucky enough to catch a glimpse myself."
Reserve Manager John Gowland said, “It’s a perfect location here because it’s a safe haven, right beside the river, so we knew that if we engineered some otter holts into the banks around the lagoon there was a good chance they would come.
"We've seen otter tracks for some time but it is unusual to see them in the middle of the day. This is encouraging as it shows the otters are getting more confident and beginning to feel safer in the area, which is what we'd hoped for.
"It was wonderful to see the photo of a female otter and her cubs. Normally otters are solitary when not raising young so to see them together as a family is fantastic."
European otters are much larger than their Asian short-clawed relatives that we have here at Washington Wetland Centre. They are generally seen around dawn or dusk time, so to be able to see them through the day is very exciting - it's hoped that many more visitors will be able to enjoy spotting them as they become more and more confident.
Sunderland City Council Leader Cllr Paul Watson said: “It’s wonderful to see the new otter holts already proving popular and having the desired effect of attracting additional otters to live and breed along the River Wear.
"WWT Washington Wetland Centre is a great facility - we are very lucky to have such a wildlife haven in Sunderland. We were delighted to be able to contribute to the centre, as part of the wider project to build the New Wear Crossing, and will be following the success of the otter holts with interest.”
For more information about the New Wear Crossing project, visit www.newwearcrossing.co.uk or to sign up to receive a monthly newsletter on the New Wear Crossing, email newwearcrossing@farrans.com or call 0800 223 0379.
