the mustelidae family

part six the otter

Everyone`s favourite animal must be the otter,they just look so cute and cuddly and are magnificent to watch.Land otters are nocturnal whereas sea otters are not and actually come out in the daytime,Although their have been more sightings recently of land otters coming out during the day.Otters are making a great come back and are now said to be in every county in England,Of course this is magnificent as somebody said in the Birmingham area in the mid eighties that because midland waters were so polluted, you would never see otters in our local rivers again.If you are trying to catch a glimpse of otters you must remember a few key points, Firstly always make sure the wind is blowing towards you as your scent will blow towards the otters if blowing against you and disturb them, Secondly always where clothing that will blend in well with the surroundings where you are watching the otters and thirdly always keep your profile low when watching from a short distance away from the otters.Extra green grass growing in a circle may give a clue that its an otters spraint and the otters are nearer by.Otters live in a holt,Which will normally be in good cover by a river or a stream or at the coast,The holt may be close to some roots from a old tree on the river bank.The otters will have a slide on the bank as a way to get into the river.Fish is a otters main food,But they will also eat eels and frogs,small mammals and some waterside birds,and as they are really strong swimmers they may catch quite a few fish, but trout and Salmon normally move to fast for them.They have large lungs to aid their underwater activities,When they dive they can slow down their oxygen consumption by slowing down their heartbeats.Otters can live for up to twenty years in the wild.The dog (MALE) and bitch (female) otter are streamlined for speed in the water,having small ears and a long body,with a powerful,tapering tail and short,strong legs with webbed feet.The dog is about ninety centimeter's long with a forty centimeter tail, The bitch is slightly smaller.Otters can breed all year round with the bitch being on heat for about two weeks every thirty to forty days. The cubs are born blind after about a sixty two day gestation period,They are born in the holt and will normally number between three and five..They can open their eyes after about four weeks.The holt will normally be lined with moss and grass.The otter cubs will stay with their mother for up to fifteen months,The dog otter has no active role in bringing the cubs up.Otters communicate through whistling to each other,If you watch otters you may hear them whistling to each other.The bitch will teach the cubs to swim after they leave the holt,This is when the cubs fur coat has changed from the grey fluffy coat they are born with,To the waterproof coats.Their coat is something they constantly groom.When the cubs finally leave their mothers territory they then set up their own territories.