Re: Otters in Arden Mill Pond

Isaac Hale | Jan 20, 2016

Re: Otters in Arden Mill Pond (Letters, Jan 14/16)

Coen,

I also like to see the otters in the Mill Pond. I thought you might like to know a few more things about them. They can live up to 10-15 yrs in the wild, have very few predators in the water and prefer to eat fish although they will eat crustaceans, reptiles, birds, insects and even other mammals. They like to live in beaver houses and will even share with beaver, although they aren't the nicest house guests. In fact a healthy beaver population is one of the best indicators of healthy otters.

They aren't truly territorial, only defending the place they are currently in. The most common family group is an adult female and her young. They live with her until they are more than a year old. This is what you are seeing in the Pond, in fact they have just moved down from the lake since the ice arrived. Before that many of us saw them playing along the edge of the ice in the lake.

This leads me to the most important thing I want to tell you. Otter move a lot, they have big home ranges and will most likely be moving on as soon as they eat lots of the fish in the Pond. I just wanted you to know if they aren't there anymore, that I didn't trap them, they have just gone hunting. In fact being prone to canine distemper and feline panleukopenia means that in the village they are more in danger from our pets and cars than from trappers. They are smart and hard to catch.

I hope they stick around for a while and we all get to enjoy them some more.

Your friend

Isaac Hale