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Eurasian river otter (Lutra lutra) - No habitat for the slender fish-hunter?
Eurasian river otters can be found in Europe, Asia and Northern Africa. They inhabit water habitats of all kinds: small streams, rivers, ponds and lakes. They even live at the sea shore. Otters are solitary animals doing nocturnal migrations, which may lead lots of kilometres through areas of solid ground. Their physiques are well adapted to life and hunt in water. They are quite slender, up to 70 - 90 cm long and reach weights up to 7 - 12 kg. Females are a little smaller than males. River otters hunt fish but also all other kinds of small animals living in or near the water. The amount of fish they eat varies through the seasons. It comes to 20 - 90% of their nutrition. Since there is no certain mating season in River otters, young are born throughout the year. Pregnancy lasts for 9 weeks. A litter consists of 1 - 3 pups, which stay with their mother for about one year. Eurasian river otters reach ages of 10 - 15 years.
It's just hundred years ago that River otters could have been found at all kinds of water habitats throughout Europe. Today there are just a few hundreds of Otters left in Germany, for example. In former times River otters had been hunted intensively: They served as a popular nutrition during periods of fasting cause people looked at them as fish - and it was allowed to eat fish during fasting. Later on they had been hunted for their fur. In Germany 10000 otterskins had been manufactured per year before World War I. Men also killed Otters as competitors for fish. This all diminished the numbers of Eurasian river otters but didn't bring them near the point of extinction in Central Europe. This is due to the destruction of their natural habitats during the last decades. Where natural rivers and lakes can't be found anymore, Otters can't survive. They are dependent on a well structured landscape with places where they can hide. They can't live in areas with monotonous, straightened shores. Nowadays water habitats are "renatured" again. If this could be achieved broadly, River otters will find habitats again where they can live.
There are several organisations occupying themselves with issues about River otters. One of them is the "Aktion Fischotterschutz", having established the "Otterzentrum Hankensbüttel" in Northern Germany. The habitats, where Eurasian river otters can be seen here, are made by man, but nevertheless transport an image of what Otters need to survive. Visitors learn a lot about the life of River otters and their relatives, like Pine- and Stone marten or Badger and Polecat.
There's a detailed report about the "Otterzentrum Hankensbüttel" on our CD-ROM "Zoos in Deutschland".
If you like to get further information on the Eurasian river otter, have a look at the ottersite!
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This article was originally published at <a href="http://magazine.naturspot.de" target="_top">magazine.naturspot.de</a>. <a href="http://magazine.naturspot.de/text/otter.html" target="_top">Link to the original article</a>
The animal photos are NOT part of this permission. |
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