Stour
Water Vole Project
New homes for
otters in the Stour Valley...
Over the past few months, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and
volunteers from the Stour Valley Wildlife Action Group have teamed
up to build and install otter holts in a number of locations across
the area.
Otters are protected by law in the UK following their near
extinction in the 1970s. Today, with a ban on hunting, more
environmentally-friendly farming practices and improved river water
quality, their numbers are slowly increasing and evidence of otters
have been found on the River Stour and a number of its
tributaries.
copyright
Darin Smith
Otters are nocturnal mammals that live
along waterways. They have large territory sizes of up to 40km,
meaning that there will only ever be a handful of individuals
present on a river catchment. This means that sightings are very
rare and the whereabouts of this elusive creature is usually only
determined by searching for footprints or spraint - their
inoffensive droppings that smell somewhat like fishy jasmine
tea!
Otters prefer tree-lined rivers and streams, usually using the
roots and hollows of old riverbank trees as places to live. As much
of this natural habitat has been lost over past decades, artificial
otter holts can help to give this native animal a helping hand,
providing them with somewhere safe to rest.
copyright Paul
Leadbetter
Volunteers worked tirelessly to construct the holts (which are
made out of recycled plastic); they were then installed in remote
locations lacking natural cover, firmly fixed down and camouflaged,
meaning that they should last for many years to come. The holts
have two entrances to avoid confrontation if an inquisitive visitor
enters, and two rooms so that the holts are more like a home - a
place to live and perhaps even bring up young. A huge thank you
must go to all of the volunteers and landowners that made this
possible.
It is hoped that the presence of otters will also help to reduce
numbers of the American mink, a non-native invasive animal that has
had a devastating effect on native wildlife, especially on the
charismatic water vole, now on the brink of extinction in the
UK.
Along with the installation of otter holts, the project has also
involved surveying for otter, mink and water vole across the Stour
Valley to get a more accurate picture of their population sizes.
Landowners across the area are also being encouraged to help
protect water voles, which are still present in the area, and a
leaflet will shortly be produced to provide local people with more
information on how they can help our native wildlife.
The project has been kindly funded through the Vision for Stour
Group of Stratford-on-Avon District Council and an event to
showcase its achievements will take place in the next few
months.
