Otter News Archive

Canoeists spot animal and den on riverbank

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5th April 2010

Clive White

Telegraph & Argus, Bradford, Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Otters have been reported on the River Aire at Bingley.

Canoeists using the stretch near Wagon Lane and beyond Ireland Bridge in the town say they have seen signs of the animal.

And the Environment Agency has received reports of otter droppings in the Ireland Bridge area.

An Agency officer said there had been a gradual increase in water quality in the River Aire and other rivers in West Yorkshire over the last ten years which was producing an environment which could sustain wildlife that relied on the river.

It was the result of the upgrading of sewage treatment works, especially at Esholt, and there had been action to stop overflow during flooding, she said.

“There is improved fish migration upstream towards Bingley and we have been working on removing physical obstacles like weirs and building fish passes to help in this migration,” she said.

“We have a four-year programme of re-stocking the Aire with fish.

“Salmon have been seen in the Aire and they are a barometer of good water quality which is also key to the survival of otters.”

Bradford and Bingley Canoe Club chairman Wendy Robinson said: “Members have reported seeing an otter and there is definitely a holt (otter’s den).

“We stay away from that area so as not to disturb the animal. It’s very exciting to know there’s an otter but it also says a lot about the water quality.

“Years ago, when I started paddling, the river was virtually dead, but today we are very confident about the water quality.

“We see other wildlife as well, including kingfishers.”

The club, which has about 60 members, is based in Wagon Lane and uses a quarter-mile stretch of the Aire and also paddles near Ireland Bridge.