If you're in the UK you might be delighted to see cute otters around unless they're after your koi. There have been a lot of reports in the past about otters eating expensive koi so you better make sure your yard is otter proof!
From the Daily Mail: Don't be fooled by the fluffy whiskers and cute appearance. Beneath the cuddly exterior lurks a fearsome predator – if you have a garden pond.
Otters are abandoning their natural hunting grounds of rivers and lakes to prey on fish in domestic gardens.
In some cases, they have wiped out prized stocks of koi carp, which can be worth up to £25,000 each.
Nature experts said work to increase otters’ dwindling numbers in the 1990s has led to a population explosion today, driving them into urban areas to forage for food.
Kevin Mann, 48, lost his entire stock of 17 koi carp in just three weeks after otters raided his garden in Barford, near Norwich, Norfolk.
My favorite thing about this article is a small "otter fact" box that states such fun otter facts like:
- Hermione Granger's patronus takes the shape of an otter in Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix.
- Fishermen in southern Bangladesh breed otters and train them to chase fish into their nets.
- The word otter stems from the Old English word 'otor' or 'oter', which also gave rise to the word 'water'.
- The mammals can be referred to with several collective nouns - bevy, family, lodge, romp, or raft (when in the water).
Click here to read the whole article at the Daily Mail