Over the few years at Stanwick Lakes we’ve been testing some pretty advanced technology to see what sorts of wildlife enters into our grounds at night.. So far we’ve been luck enough to spot a whole range of creatures from Muntjac, Field Mice, Pheasants, Foxes to Badgers!

Using our infra-red stealth cam earlier in the year, one of our Rangers captured this rather inquisitive Otter on film.

Although we can’t disclose the location of the Otter’s holt (home), we can say that our Rangers are obviously doing something right to manage their natural Riparian habitat properly because we’ve just learnt that our Otters are breeding! This all makes sense because we have been recently been designated a Special Protection Area by Natural England.

Female Otters can occupy territories of 20miles+ which makes the chances of you seeing one really slim. If on the other hand you do catch a glimpse of one, we’d prefer you to keep the location to yourself. As you can see from our footage, Otters are very sensitive and easily disturbed, even by the scent of our camera! So any kind of human intervention can cause them a lot of stress, and the last thing we want is for the Otter family to pack their bags and leave.

– Dave