OTTERS in Ireland

30-01-2007 9:54am #1

Are there otters in Ireland and if so ,where would you most likely see them?

Thanks,
Brian.

Saruman · 30-01-2007 9:57am

first google page shows me is this:
http://www.ipcc.ie/infootter.html

30-01-2007 10:22am

I've seen it ,just thought there were handy spots for me mere mortals like me to go .

boneless · 30-01-2007 4:59pm

Otters appear to be on the increase at the moment. The one place I always (well, nearly always!) see them is on the coast near Rosaveel in Connemara.

There have been unconfirmed sightings in the Dublin area too but until I have proof I won't believe them... doubting boneless!!

30-01-2007 6:52pm

cheers ,will take my time so and hopefully see them around sometime .

hmboards · 30-01-2007 10:07pm

boneless wrote:

There have been unconfirmed sightings in the Dublin area too but until I have proof I won't believe them... doubting boneless!!

There was a pair of otters frequenting the old Guinness filter beds beside Park West about two years ago. They would come in from the canal every day, and could be seen climbing over the bank between the two. There were plenty of fish there to keep them fed, though the gulls would always try to steal their catches. It was nice to watch them every day for a few weeks! Unfortunately they moved on before any pups arrived. There's an article about it here: http://www.ireland.com/timeseye/wild/article_p4m.htm They haven't been back since though

boneless · 31-01-2007 7:46pm

hmboards wrote:

There was a pair of otters frequenting the old Guinness filter beds beside Park West about two years ago. They would come in from the canal every day, and could be seen climbing over the bank between the two. There were plenty of fish there to keep them fed, though the gulls would always try to steal their catches. It was nice to watch them every day for a few weeks! Unfortunately they moved on before any pups arrived. There's an article about it here: http://www.ireland.com/timeseye/wild/article_p4m.htm They haven't been back since though

Thanks for that Mate!! I live 20 minutes from there so I might take a dander up just in case. This fits in with the annecdotal evidence I have of an otter on the canal at Davitt Road. It's only a mile or so away. I will have to keep my eyes open!!Cheers...

Roen · 31-01-2007 8:47pm

There's loads (relatively) along the Suir, especially near Carrick-on-Suir. Also plenty on the Blackwater and up the Glenshelane valley near Cappoquin.
Not exactly near Dublin but there must be some closer, I read in a book or on Mooney's website that Ireland has the healthiest population of Otters in Europe.

The Hill Billy · 01-02-2007 11:08am

I've seen one feeding in the sea off Inishbofin (Co Galway).

lensman · 03-02-2007 9:49pm

boneless wrote:

Otters appear to be on the increase at the moment. The one place I always (well, nearly always!) see them is on the coast near Rosaveel in Connemara.

There have been unconfirmed sightings in the Dublin area too but until I have proof I won't believe them... doubting boneless!!

along the liffey at the strawberry beds area

boneless · 05-02-2007 1:17pm

lensman wrote:

along the liffey at the strawberry beds area

Have you seen them? I might take a trip with the scope if there has been a confirmed sighting. Thanks for the info... keep it coming!!:)

lensman · 05-02-2007 9:18pm

boneless wrote:

Have you seen them? I might take a trip with the scope if there has been a confirmed sighting. Thanks for the info... keep it coming!!:)

No not me,. I worked with a guy some years back who lives over there & he said that you can hear them "whistling" as he called it, he has lived there for over 60yrs so I doubt he is wrong, I'll try to make contact with him & check.
BTW did you know there are stoats in the furry glen (phoenix park)

Roen · 05-02-2007 11:56pm

I'd love to see a stoat, would be a rare honour for me.

lensman · 06-02-2007 12:45pm

I photographed them a few years ago, in the area indicated on the attached map, the nearby information center had the photo on the wall,..might be still there.

mukki · 06-02-2007 12:48pm

i saw one swim under the ha'penny bridge about 2 years ago, all you can see is the eyes and the nose holes

adonis · 06-02-2007 12:51pm

i also saw one swim under capel street bridge a year or two ago!
i wonder if it was the same otter

dodgyme · 09-02-2007 4:04pm

I hope ye mean otters and not minks lads. I have seen otters off the coast of Mayo and one ever in freshwater in an old lake in east mayo which will remain nameless. I have seen a few stoats particularly lately (last few years) and many badgers. In relation to otters I have been fishing all my life and in freshwater they are rare leadin me to think that when people are saying there are loadsa around they are actually looking at the horrible mink. i also saw red squirrels as a child but not any in the last 20 years. What I would really like to see is a pine martin and a barn owl close up in the wild.

Roen · 09-02-2007 7:16pm

Definitely Otters down this way.
If you want to see Red Squirrel head to West Waterford, Kennedy Park in Wexford or up to Woodstock in Inistioge, all are a great day out and I rarely failed to see them in the places I mentioned above.

boneless · 10-02-2007 3:22pm

dodgyme wrote:

I hope ye mean otters and not minks lads. I have seen otters off the coast of Mayo and one ever in freshwater in an old lake in east mayo which will remain nameless. I have seen a few stoats particularly lately (last few years) and many badgers. In relation to otters I have been fishing all my life and in freshwater they are rare leadin me to think that when people are saying there are loadsa around they are actually looking at the horrible mink. i also saw red squirrels as a child but not any in the last 20 years. What I would really like to see is a pine martin and a barn owl close up in the wild.

Pine marten are on the up as well... saw some in west Wicklow last year and some in Fermanagh too. PM me if you want Wicklow details.

artieanna · 11-02-2007 1:24am

never saw a stoat or an otter would love to see one am in the right place so I must keep an eye out....

Any of ye see a weasel, it was so cool I was out walking one day had dog an cat (don't ask, cat loves walks) wit me. One came walking towards me on a stone ditch cat and dog never noticed it and he didn't seem a bit bothered by us, he hopped off the ditch and vanished into rushes... Soo cool:cool:

Btw have seen mink good few times......

Roen · 11-02-2007 11:11am

You sure it was a weasel? I was under the impression that we don't have them here.

artieanna · 12-02-2007 12:44am

everyone I described it to said it was a weasel, but I've just discovered as a result of your post that, what we in ireland call a weasel is actully a stoat see link...

So yep I've seen a stoat....:D sorry about that confusion

http://doon.mayo-ireland.ie/istoat.html

Alun · 12-02-2007 10:22am

artieanna wrote:

everyone I described it to said it was a weasel, but I've just discovered as a result of your post that, what we in ireland call a weasel is actully a stoat see link...

Interesting .. so what do they call a true weasel in Ireland then? Or did St. Patrick get rid of them too

?

I've seen weasels in England before, and they're surprisingly small .. no thicker in diameter than a good sized sausage

Stoats are a good bit bigger IIRC, but nowhere near as big as an otter.

On the subject of Pine Martens, in an area I lived in in Germany they were considered as something of a pest. They had a tendency to crawl up into the engine compartments of cars and chew things .. like wires, rubber hoses, brake hoses etc. !!! There were quite a few accidents attributed to damage caused by them. Most people around there (including me!) had a little ultrasonic repellent device installed to scare them away.

Roen · 12-02-2007 11:46am

I don't think we have Weasels at all Alun.

adonis · 12-02-2007 11:50am

dodgyme wrote:

I hope ye mean otters and not minks lads. I have seen otters off the coast of Mayo and one ever in freshwater in an old lake in east mayo which will remain nameless. I have seen a few stoats particularly lately (last few years) and many badgers. In relation to otters I have been fishing all my life and in freshwater they are rare leadin me to think that when people are saying there are loadsa around they are actually looking at the horrible mink. i also saw red squirrels as a child but not any in the last 20 years. What I would really like to see is a pine martin and a barn owl close up in the wild.

i have also been fishing freshwaters all my life and have only ever seen one other...
that was definitely one though at capel street -
i did see a pine marten as well...mischievous little guys they are

boneless · 12-02-2007 4:06pm

Alun wrote:

Interesting .. so what do they call a true weasel in Ireland then? Or did St. Patrick get rid of them too ?

I've seen weasels in England before, and they're surprisingly small .. no thicker in diameter than a good sized sausage Stoats are a good bit bigger IIRC, but nowhere near as big as an otter.

On the subject of Pine Martens, in an area I lived in in Germany they were considered as something of a pest. They had a tendency to crawl up into the engine compartments of cars and chew things .. like wires, rubber hoses, brake hoses etc. !!! There were quite a few accidents attributed to damage caused by them. Most people around there (including me!) had a little ultrasonic repellent device installed to scare them away.

The wee car vandals in question are Stone Martens, a close relative of the pine marten. I have seen the damage the little buggers can do!!

My ex- Daddy in Law had running battles with them for years... they always won!!

Alun · 13-02-2007 11:42am

boneless wrote:

The wee car vandals in question are Stone Martens, a close relative of the pine marten. I have seen the damage the little buggers can do!!

My ex- Daddy in Law had running battles with them for years... they always won!!

Thanks for that! I just knew them as Marder, and my dictionary just said Marten as a translation. I never had much problem with them myself, but a friend had loads of problems with munched cables and even a radiator hose!

williamw · 15-02-2007 11:48pm

i was on the liffey today with a group of about 15 kayakers.at lucan just below the weirt called sluice (very close to mc donalds)we saw 4 otters. they were about 15 metres away from us for 60 seconds or more. they were diving down and picking something up from the river bottom and eating it on the surface. there were definately 4 as we saw them all at the same time. it was amazing.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 16-02-2007 1:46pm

Just for the record.

There are no Weasels in Ireland. The Stoat is what many here refer to as a Weasel. Stoats, Otters, Pine Martens are all members of the weasel family.

There are no Stone Martens in Ireland either.

Nalz · 16-02-2007 1:48pm

This thread reminds me when I was 17 and I saw a really big otter close to the site I was working on. cornflakes. Which leads to my question: whats the average size of an otter in Ireland?

lensman · 16-02-2007 2:06pm

Hadleigh Ambitious Pearl wrote:

Just for the record.

There are no Weasels in Ireland. The Stoat is what many here refer to as a Weasel. Stoats, Otters, Pine Martens are all members of the weasel family.

There are no Stone Martens in Ireland either.

you can add badgers to that.........

OTTERS in Ireland

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