An otter has been seen in the Irwell River at the University of Salford Adephi building in the centre of Salford.
On Wednesday 25th November 2020, Mersey Rivers Trust tweeted: “It’s little things that make our collective efforts worthwhile. Spur us on to achieve more…”, along with adorable image of the otter.
The Mersey Rivers Trust project manager Paul Corner said: “It’s an Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra), native to the UK.
“Their population is expanding across our region, which is why they are turning up in cities; they follow the main rivers, looking for food.”
It’s little things that make our collective efforts worthwhile.
Spur us on to achieve more.
An Otter in the Irwell at Adelphi in the centre of Salford
HOW AMAZING IS THAT@salford_mayor @salforduni @SalfordVRangers @natural_course @EnvAgencyNW @MarkSewellUU @GroundworkGM pic.twitter.com/zOfdnhY7DJ— Mersey Rivers Trust (@MerseyRivers) November 25, 2020
Mike Duddy, senior project manager for The Mersey Rivers Trust, said that they receive unconfirmed sightings of larger mammals of the river such as otters and minks with footprints in the sand, and otter faeces.
“However, we have never had good footage of the otter,” he said.
“Otters may look adorable, nevertheless are described as vicious killers.”
Otters have 36 sharp teeth and will prey on what is in their sight, such as crayfish, eels and even ducklings.
Otters can be easily mistaken for mink with both being slender with short legs and long tails. Otters have a rounder face, thicker tail, and are lighter brown while a mink is darker and smaller.
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