Otters back in Mersey - rangers (From This Is Cheshire)

Otters back in Mersey - rangers

10:20am Monday 21st November 2011 in News

OTTERS have returned to the Mersey for the first time in 30 years.

Their pawprints were discovered on the riverbank near Fiddlers Ferry.

The Forestry Commission is creating viewing areas so the public can spot the secretive mammals more easily.

Forest rangers have photographed pawprints in the mud and otter droppings.

Duncan MacNaughton, a forest ranger, said: “To see evidence of otters returning to the estuary is incredibly exciting for everyone interested in nature conservation.

“So far we’ve seen pawprints, but not an actual otter.

“If anyone could capture a photograph of an otter on the site, that would confirm once and for all that otters have made a comeback.”

Less than 30 years ago, the Mersey was too polluted to sustain a large range of wildlife.

But, a major clean-up operation led by the Mersey Basin Campaign, has seen animals return to the water.

If you spot an otter along the River Mersey, post your photographs to facebook.com/ottersonthemersey and e-mail them to newsdesk@guardiangrp.co.uk