How does anyone know their territory's have shrunk and you're not just seeing the same otter repeatedly with the occasional chancer encroaching from time to time? It's not like you can tell them apart as they all wear their own unique style of hat!
They all look the same to you? That's very racist Rhys
As you say though, how do they know? How do they know that there are now otters in every county in England? How on earth do they know how many otters there are in England now? How do they know all the other statistics about otters that they keep popping up with? Damned if I know mate...but they do seem to know.
Without a shred of evidence based on personal observations, I just have to believe that those who claim they do know 'things'...are correct. I have to believe people who tell me that our seas are over fished, or the number of tigers that are left in India, or that global warming is a fact....because I have nothing but their claims to go on. That's not very satisfactory I know, but I don't have any better alternatives.
One thing that is a fact is that a LOT more people, anglers and general public alike, are now seeing otters on our waters. Many of these sightings it seems are reported by folk who had never seen an otter before. Now that, it seems to me, can only mean (A) there are more otters about now than there ever was before (even pre the population crash) or (B) otters are not as shy of humans as they once were, or (C) a combination of both options. There are also sightings now of otters in places where they have never been recorded before....which again points towards many more otters than there were before. A lot of this may be anecdotal...but then a lot of it has come from folk who are very pro otters...so why would they make it up?
So, that leads me back to my original points. The EU are extremely upset at our politicians for not bringing the water quality of our rivers up to an acceptable level, a level which will allow our fish populations to naturally return to sustainable numbers...numbers that are capable of coping with predation by otters, as nature intended.
The fly in the ointment at the moment is that nature could not have foreseen the full spectrum of chemicals that mankind would come up with. We are not talking chemicals that would kill them if they occasionally reached lethal concentrations...they have had that to deal with for centuries. The real killer now, the slow working new kids on the block are chemicals that to a variable extent render our fish infertile, unable to breed successfully in many of our rivers....much as it can't have seen the same thing happening to otters. Nature will never have reckoned on mankind transferring creatures from one country to another either, creatures that will cause issues for our indigenous species that they have no in-built defense against...including diseases they cannot fight. Ask the Australians how we have caused havoc of that sort over the years. Sadly, things are reaching breaking point on many of our rivers. I gather that we are at the stage now where some of our rivers cannot recover without major intervention.
So, what is a beleaguered politician supposed to do, poor wee things? How about jumping onto a god sent bandwagon? How about spotting a critter that is slowly making a comeback, an impossibly cute, almost Disney like character that would be hard NOT to turn into a success story? After all, it was the banning of certain chemicals that started this slow comeback. So, plan 'A' came to be. Accelerate the return, then ensure it's survival with draconian protection levels...see how we have cleaned our rivers up?....sorted. It's just a shame it's all a big con.
It's also a bit of a shame that these animals are killing off the few remaining fish in badly estrogen polluted rivers. But hey...you can't make an omelette without cracking a few eggs, right?
Cheers, Dave.
