Otterly amazing news at Flamingo Land

Wild European otters have taken up residence in one of the lakes at Flamingo Land. 

Flamingo Land has always taken pride in its award winning animal care and conservation through captive breeding programmes and international conservation projects. While much of their international work is well documented, their work to conserve the habitats and wildlife found locally is less publicised. Recent camera trap footage has shown that the work is paying off, with the discovery of not 1, not 2 but 3 separate otters residing in their lakes and nearby water courses. 

50 years ago, European otters were almost on the verge of extinction in the UK after suffering dramatic population declines, mainly due to habitat destruction, pesticides and poor water quality. Otters require very clean water with a healthy supply of food and enough vegetation on the banks to offer them shelter and places to raise their young. 

European otters differ from many other species of otter in that they are solitary, and males and females will only meet during the breeding season. The fact that multiple otters have been seen, is testament to the health and cleanliness of the local water course, the Costa Beck, and the lakes on the site. They can also confirm that they have seen the female with at least one pup, which is not only incredible for the species but also is a great reward for the continued work being done to conserve native animals and habitats.

In the future Flamingo Land hopes to build on this success and would like to see more native species returning to the site.  Planned projects include white-clawed crayfish and red squirrels.