Otter - Lutra lutra

The elusive Common Otter has sleek brown fur, which is often paler on the underside, and a long lithe body with a thick tail and short legs. Adaptations for an aquatic lifestyle include webbed feet, the ability to close its small ears and its nose when under water, and very dense, short fur which traps a layer of air to insulate the animal.

Otters are larger than Mink and have a black nose compared to the Mink's pink nose.

Found by clean rivers, lakes and along coasts.

All year round

Breeding can occur throughout the year; two or three cubs are usually born in a den known as a holt, and 10 weeks later the cubs emerge above ground with their mother. Otter mothers care for their offspring for about a year; it may take the cubs up to 18 months to learn to fish and the mother helps this learning process by releasing live fish for the cubs to re-catch.

Uncommon, but widespread, nationally.

Uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland. A population re-established in our area in the 1990s; some animals were released by conservationists in Rutland, but there has also been some natural re-colonisation and numbers seem to be growing.