Workshop reveals more about
the otter’s diet!

Mammal conservation through innovation and participation.
A group of volunteers rolled up their sleeves to find out more about what otters eat in North Wales - at a special workshop last weekend
(18/19 February).

otter Otter, photo ©CCW

In the workshop, organised by the Mammals in a Sustainable Environment (MISE) project at Treborth Botanic Gardens, over 40 volunteers dissected otter droppings, know as spraints, to see what they could find. The remains of eels, marine and freshwater fish, crabs, amphibians and even birds and mice were all among their gory findings - more than 23 different prey species in total.

The spraints were collected by volunteers last year, along the North Wales coast and in Waterford, Ireland. Mammal Ecologist Rob Strachan helped the volunteers identify fish bones, jaws and even mammal teeth as they picked the spraints apart!

The MISE project is part of an EU Interreg funded project involving the Countryside Council for Wales and The Vincent Wildlife Trust to find out more about mammals and what they need to thrive in a sustainable environment.

Ceri Morris, CCW Project Officer and workshop organiser said: “Analysing the otter’s diet can yield valuable information not only about what they eat, but where they feed and how far they roam. We found evidence of crabs in a number of the spraints, which are generally thought of as a favourite food for young otters – so this could be evidence of breeding sites near our coasts.”

“We can also find out the DNA of individual animals from the spraints – which will help us learn more about how many otters there are, and will give us a better insight into their lives in the future.”

One volunteer, Rob Jones, who travelled from the Conwy area to take part said: “I hadn’t realised there were otters near where I live. We analysed spraint found in the river that passes by the end of my garden! Now that I know they’re there, and what to look for, I’ll be keeping an eye out for them in the future!”

Ceri Morris added: “It is great to see so many people enthusiastic to learn more about otters, despite having to pick through their droppings to do so! A few people told me that they have travelled as far as the Highlands of Scotland to see Otters in the past, and yet they are living here on our doorstep in North Wales!”

Otters – at a glance:

Otters were once widespread in Britain, but suffered a dramatic decline in the 1950s – 1970s due to pollution from pesticides.
Since the pesticides were withdrawn from use, Welsh rivers are the healthiest they’ve been for 20 years and otters have spread across much of Wales.
Most of the otter’s diet is fish (usually 75-95%) but they also eat amphibians, crayfish, waterfowl and small mammals.
Otters live along rivers, lakes and sea coasts, and, at times, in marshy areas some distance from open water. Coast-living otters need fresh water to clean salt from their fur, which otherwise loses its ability to keep them warm.
Otters can travel over large areas, some are known to roam 20km or more along rivers.
Otters are territorial - they deposit faeces, known as spraints, in prominent places to mark their territory.

For more information, visit the project’s website www.miseproject.ie or find us on Facebook under ‘Mammals in a Sustainable Environment (MISE)’. If you would like to get involved in a volunteer event contact Ceri Morris c.morris@ccw.gov.uk Tel: 07881850735 or Jenny MacPherson : jennymacpherson@vwt.org.uk Tel: 07584 415760.

Ends.

NOTES TO EDITORS

For more information about this press release please contact Helen Evans, CCW Press Office on 07717225589 or Bran Devey, CCW, on 02920 772 403/ 07747767443, or Hilary Macmillan at VWT on 01531 636441.

More detail: The otter spraints were collected from a number of sites along the North Wales coast, from Queensferry in Flintshire, Rhyl, Llanddulas,Conwy, all around Anglesey and along the Llyn Peninsula during surveys organised by Snowdonia Mammal Group, Menter Môn , and Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy County Councils.

At the launch of the Mammals in a Sustainable Environment Project, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and European Programmes, Alun Davies AM, said: “Supporting biodiversity is a key part of our commitment as a Government to sustainable development. I am pleased that this EU backed initiative will ensure that local partners and communities are able to make a real difference, helping to promote the wildlife and habitats threatened by human activity and climate change."

Background

Mammals in a Sustainable Environment (MISE) is delivered in partnership with the Countryside Council for Wales, The Vincent Wildlife Trust and Snowdonia National Park Authority, in Wales, and the Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford County Council and the National Biodiversity Data Centre in Ireland.
The project aims to monitor mammal species of conservation interest, with the help of novel genetic techniques, and will work with volunteers to raise awareness, and engage the public in mammal survey and conservation work.
The project is part funded by £800,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Ireland Wales Programme (INTERREG 4A)”.
The Ireland Wales Cross Border programme is led by the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly (SERA) in Ireland in partnership with the Welsh Government.
The project is supported by the European Regional Development Fund to develop collaborative projects to boost skills, economic growth and protect the environment.
The project follows the publication of the Welsh Government’s framework for caring for Wales’ natural environment, ‘A Living Wales’, launched last year. The framework has been established to halt the decline of biodiversity by managing the Welsh environment in a more holistic and joined-up way.

CCW is a Welsh Government Sponsored Body, working for a better Wales where everyone values and cares for our natural environment. More information about our work is available on www.ccw.gov.uk

The Vincent Wildlife Trust is a national charity engaged in mammal research and conservation. For more than 30 years, the Trust has made major contributions to the conservation of many of our rarer mammals, including the otter, dormouse, water vole, pine marten, polecat and the bats. Today, the Trust continues to concentrate on the needs of British and Irish mammals of conservation interest, with current work centred on the bats, pine marten and stoat. The Trust also manages over 40 nature reserves in England, Wales and Ireland, most of which are bat roosts. In Wales, the Trust has staff based in Brecon, Presteigne and Brechfa. More information about our work is on www.vwt.org.uk.