Anita Bensoussane wrote: ↑04 Nov 2023, 20:52
I was delighted this morning to see my first wild otter! It was swimming and diving for fish in the river, only a five-minute walk from my flat! A small crowd of people had gathered at the edge of the water and I went over to join them, knowing that otters had been sighted in that area before. I was so pleased to see one at last, and it didn't seem at all fazed at having spectators!
Ooh, lovely! I've seen otters in captivity, but not in the wild so far.
Society Member
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
I hope you get to see an otter/otters in the wild at some point, Courtenay. After seeing the otter, I popped into our Tourist Information Centre to pick up some leaflets and got talking to the man behind the counter. He said some tourists told him recently that they'd seen three otters scampering along the high street!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
There used to be a place somewhere in Suffolk that kept otters as at one time they were such a rare animal, however I think it eventually closed down as there wasn't a need for them anymore as so many were successfully returning to our waterways.
Sad for the business, but great news for our ecosystem.
I've never seen otters in the wild. There seem to be some around, at least there are road signs at one or two places warning of otters crossing the street - but I've neve been lucky enough to see some.
I hope you get to see an otter/otters in the wild, Hannah! What initially drew me to the river was that I saw a small crowd of people at the edge of the water, looking excited!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Your story of people seeing otters in the street, Anita, has reminded me of the time I was walking down a quite busy street in the middle of Krakow and saw a mole pottering along the pavement! He seemed quite happy and unbothered by the traffic. Isn’t nature marvellous.
I like the nutria, Hannah! We call it a coypu here, though we don't have any in the wild (some escaped from fur farms when we had fur farms years ago, but there are none in the wild now).
You must have been very surprised to see a mole working its way along a busy street, Susie!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Unfortunately, they caused so much damage here (to reed beds, crops, other vegetation and flood defences) that there was a campaign to catch and destroy them.
On a brighter note, it was lovely to hear on the news that a long-beaked echidna (known as Attenborough's long-beaked echidna) has been spotted in the Cyclops Mountains in Indonesia - the first confirmed sighting since 1961. The scientists who rediscovered the echidna also recorded masses of new finds, including several dozen insect species and a tree-dwelling shrimp. Fascinating!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Anita Bensoussane wrote: ↑10 Nov 2023, 21:40
On a brighter note, it was lovely to hear on the news that a long-beaked echidna (known as Attenborough's long-beaked echidna) has been spotted in the Cyclops Mountains in Indonesia - the first confirmed sighting since 1961.
I saw that — although I'm a bit annoyed that the photo the BBC is using to promote the article (on the homepage and in the list of most read articles) is a photo of the Australian short-beaked echidna, which isn't endangered at all!! (Still a fascinating creature, but it's not the one that's causing the excitement.)
Society Member
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
Today I spent some time looking through pictures I took during the first ten years or so of this millenium and I just happened to spot this one of wild poppies from July 2010 and thought it a rather apt one to post today - Remembrance Sunday.
I also came across the second picture from 28th March the same year which I had named 'This is mine' as the squirrel is clutching at something in it's left paw.
"You can't change history as that won't change the future"
I've seen otters in captivity, but not in the wild so far.
.
(Still a fascinating creature, but it's not the one that's causing the excitement.)
