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Original poster

I saw a wild otter!

48 replies

StillMedusa · 14/04/2019 09:08

I'm just excited
Never seen them in the wild before and I'm staying with DH in Norfolk for the weekend and saw three, splashing around in the river and calling to each other!
I've only ever seen them at our local wildlife park before so that has made my weekend :)

OP posts:

amusedbush · 14/04/2019 12:49

Ahh how lovely!

I was very excited the first time I saw a fox in person. I grew up in the country and never saw one - it took moving to the outskirts of a city to come across one while out running early one morning! Then a few months later another strolled in front of my car.

I still love them but they seem to like the trees at the back of our flat to host all-night sex parties and they make some racket

Likethebattle · 14/04/2019 16:08

Aw i’d Love to see one,i’ve been lucky enough to see wild deer, foxes, squirrels, pheasants, kestrels, buzzards and seals. I live in the west’s coast of Scotland with abundant wildlife but an otter is one i’d love to spot.

Autumnchill · 14/04/2019 16:21

I went on a wildlife safari on Mull and saw three wild Otters, made my day 😊

Babdoc · 14/04/2019 16:28

Years ago, the kids and I stayed in a holiday cottage at Poolewe, on the west coast of Scotland. The garden ran right down to the sea loch, and two otters used to come out and play in the garden. The owners of the cottage called them Henrietta and Henry Otter!

SpoonBlender · 14/04/2019 16:37

Very envious! I've seen the splash of an otter jumping off a branch into a river, but missed the actual animal. I have seen two weasels this year though, which is nearly as good!

Palominoo · 14/04/2019 17:16

I saw a Stoat recently. It ran out in front of me on a country road.

The funny thing was I told my daughter and she claimed never to have heard of a Stoat!

I regularly see birds of prey and of course the welsh countryside is littered with sheep and their lambs at the moment.

We saw an otter at a stately home when the children were younger but I can’t remember which one.

Often see wild rabbits and the occasional hare.

Daphnesmate · 14/04/2019 19:34

I saw one whilst canoeing down a river. It was sat on a log and then dived into the water, it was an amazing sight and one that I'll never forget x

MummaGiles · 14/04/2019 19:36

Seeing otters in the wild (river and sea) is on my bucket list. You are very lucky!

Allyg1185 · 14/04/2019 19:39

I have recently seen red squirrels for the first time

thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 14/04/2019 19:43

I see a lot of hares here in Yorkshire but saw a pine marten when I was last in Scotland that was quite cool.

Also saw a red squirrel the last time I visited my mum in Cumbria.

blackteaplease · 14/04/2019 19:44

We saw a family of them on a river in France last year whilst cycling. DH and I were super excited and the kids couldn't have cared less. They are philistines.

We have common lizards in our garden as it's quite wild and I'm sneaking over every day to catch a glimpse.

wigglybeezer · 14/04/2019 19:44

I've seen several but can't beat DH who was working in Harris one summer and saw a mother otter teaching her babies to swim in a lochan, still jealous 30years later!

hopefulglimmer · 14/04/2019 19:45

I saw a wild otter in the water of leith in Edinburgh!

GilmoreMe · 14/04/2019 19:58

Crikey. I had no idea hare sightings were rare. Everytime we look outside we see hare. Also pretty common to see otters, we had two in our garden a couple of weeks ago.
We regularly have muntjac deer in the garden too and bigger deer on the fields around the house.
We live norfolk/Suffolk border.

lljkk · 14/04/2019 20:04

which Norfolk river was it, OP?

AllTheWhoresOfMalta · 14/04/2019 20:12

Immediately thought of this on seeing the thread title.

pinkhousesarebest · 14/04/2019 20:26

I think I saw an otter in the Camargue last spring. It looked exactly like one. But we have loads of musk rats here and in the water they are quite similar. I have wanted to see one since reading Tarka the otter as a kid. Magical creatures.

Ledehe · 14/04/2019 20:30

I saw a wild otter in Pollok Country Park in the middle of Glasgow. It was amazing.

I've also seen a dolphin on the ferry over to Dunoon

RemodellingMyHouse · 14/04/2019 20:33

I see hares often, but have only spotted an otter in the wild on a couple of occasions. Beautiful creatures!

TheSandman · 14/04/2019 20:33

I also love getting a glimpse of wildlife. I saw a mink not so long ago.

Mink aren't wildlife. They're an invasive introduced species and need culled.

Original poster

StillMedusa · 15/04/2019 15:52

It was on the Little Ouse and just as the sun was going down, so early evening. They were obviously busy..one popped up with a small fish in his mouth!
I live in Oxfordshire and see of badgers and Muntjac deer ..they are almost too tame now... but I've only seen a hare once.

My Mum on the other hand quite often has a fox in her garden asking for food!

OP posts:

PickAChew · 15/04/2019 16:00

We have a weasel that visits our garden, a (grey) squirrel that makes a dash through, in the morning and a vole that helps itself to the bird food, straight from the feeders!

And mice. Which is probably why the weasel visits. It is very welcome to them.

stucknoue · 15/04/2019 16:19

If you want to see otters wild, the river Otter in Devon (very apt name) is a good spot, seen them multiple times in the daytime. There's also beavers but despite seeing gnaw marks and their dam, I haven't seen a beaver

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