OTTERS in Ireland

311

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

Thanks,
Brian.

Saruman

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

311

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

boneless

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!!

311

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

hmboards

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

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

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

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

lensman

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

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

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

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

lensman

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

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

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

dodgyme

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

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

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

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

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

artieanna

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

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

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

adonis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.........

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

The European Otter found in Ireland grows to just over 1meter in length

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

lensman wrote:

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

Absolutely right Lensman. I left out the daddy of them all. Cheers

Alun

lensman wrote:

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

I guess the people at Badgerwatch Ireland (http://www.badgerwatch.ie/) and the IWT (http://www.iwt.ie/ext_docs/edu_resources/terrestrial/badger.pdf) are just wasting their time then ?

lensman

Alun wrote:

I guess the people at Badgerwatch Ireland (http://www.badgerwatch.ie/) and the IWT (http://www.iwt.ie/ext_docs/edu_resources/terrestrial/badger.pdf) are just wasting their time then ?

please explain

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Alun wrote:

I guess the people at Badgerwatch Ireland... are just wasting their time then ?

Not at all, it's just that my brain wasn't in gear. They can't be expected to legislate for senior moments on the part of someone in a hurry to post a reply.:D Dispair not!

Alun

lensman wrote:

please explain

I was assuming you and Srameen were saying there were no badgers in Ireland, which, assuming Badgerwatch Ireland isn't using high powered scopes to watch them over in Britain and not here in Ireland, would appear to be not true

Or did you mean something else entirely?

lensman

Alun wrote:

I was assuming you and Srameen were saying there were no badgers in Ireland, which, assuming Badgerwatch Ireland isn't using high powered scopes to watch them over in Britain and not here in Ireland, would appear to be not true

Or did you mean something else entirely?

no,...I was just adding to what Srameen said " The Stoat is what many here refer to as a Weasel. Stoats, Otters, Pine Martens are all members of the weasel family " by stating that Badgers are members of the family also (Mustelidae)

Alun

lensman wrote:

no,...I was just adding to what Srameen said " The Stoat is what many here refer to as a Weasel. Stoats, Otters, Pine Martens are all members of the weasel family " by stating that Badgers are members of the family also (Mustelidae)

Ah, OK then! Sorry for the confusion

Pontius

Hi there, I'm up in Co.Leitrim and have both Otters and Pine martens near by. I say nearby as the Pine Martens were actually living in the roof of my old kitchen. I eventually got to the stage where I was feeding them on raw liver and cat food etc by hand. They seem to have no fear of humans at all. When first caught trashing my rubbish bin they would get defensive too. I had a relationship with the Pine Martens for a couple of years until the old kitchen had to be pulled down. However I've seen them back recently fighting the cats for their food.
We have a good head of Otters up here in the River Bonet near Dromahair. I have a feeder stream near me and saw them three times last year. At the moment I'm spending a lot of time staking out to film them for a potential documentary on the subject of both species in Leitrim. I'll post details if I get decent HD footage of them.
Incidentally, I was in Thailand last year and in one of the shows they had Otters trained like dogs..retrieving Heineken cans etc from a pool. They let us get pictures taken holding them too. They were really cute and far too friendly. The Otters we have here though are very shy and also very dark..almost black and a different colour to any Otters I've seen anywhere else.
There ye go..just thought you'd like to know this stuff.
Cheers
Patrick

gillyfromlyre

The hubby was swimming last summer and had a close encounter with 2 otters. I saw them swimming behind him and shouted out to him "theres a shark behind you".You should have seen the fat lards face when he saw the otters, he went totally pale and started screaming. When he got to the shore and realised they were just otters he was mortified. He went running straight towards the lifeguard who was bent over laughing and gave him a kick in the arse, the lifeguard wasn't too impressed and threatened the hubby with a visit from his solicitor so I quickly intervened and dragged my eejit of a hubby off, he hasn't swam since lol.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Are you saying you saw Otters in the sea? If so can you tell me where? I'm well aware that Ireland has one of the highest densities of Otters in Europe and have seen many in both fresh and sea water but I've always found them very timid of people in the water so your experience has me intrigued. I would be interested to know if it's on of the locations I have visited to record Otters.

gillyfromlyre

Tralee bay is where it happened, there are loads of otters there, I'm beginning to think their sight mustn't be the best because they have walked out of the water right in front of our dogs sometimes,thankfully getting back into the water just in time

myjugsarehuge

We saw 2 otters regularly in the estuary near Kilbrittain down on the south Cork coast last New year and also at White Strand (I think) near Old Kinsale head, one ran across the beach in front of us, there were quite a few people about, some with dogs, so it wasn't shy at all.

Cleahaigh

I've been fishing all my life aswell, sea and fresh water and have seen more otters in both environments than i can remember. However the chances of actually seeing an otter at any given place at any given time is pretty remote with one notable exception - otters that have their territories in the sea have to enter fresh water every few days to wash the salt out of their pelts so an excellent place to observe otters is in a fresh water lake that is very close to the coast and reasonably remote.

Deer Hunter DL

we have otters here in donegal i seen too big otters around the harbour of killybegs not long ago

bobbytwo

There are otters the full lenght of the river Lee in co.cork. Ive seen them around the Mercy Hospital area on several occasions, the Lee fields, the Anglers Rest and around Carrigadrohid.

Also easy sightings regular in the fresh water lake beside Inchydoney, Clonakility.

boneless

I was in Belderrig in north Mayo a while back. While I didn't actually see otters I saw plenty of signs of them in the form of spraints on rocks down by the shore and fresh fish bones nearby. The fishbone may not have been from otter activity but I assume it was due to the proximity of the spraints.

Zzippy

I fish fresh and salt water and see otters all the time, in one location I fish (in an urban environment) you'd be nearly guaranteed to see them at least once every 2/3 times you'd be there. I've even hooked one by mistake while flyfishing (well it was dark, I didn't know he was there!). No harm done, the fly pulled out quite easily - was pretty worried I'd have to catch him and unhook him :eek:
I usually fish the summer months until well into the night and you'd only see otters from dusk on, they aren't shy and will happily come into the pool and fish with you there. After hooking one, I tend to stop fishing now when I see one and let him have the pool until he's got a fish I've even had them surface right beside me in the dark and make a huge splash when they see you there, not sure who was more scared tbh!

olaola

We spotted three otters in the Grand Canal between Suir Road & Goldenbridge locks on Monday evening. One of them had an eel in its mouth and seemed to 'perform' for any onlooking public!

cowzerp

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055462897

1st page, this was in north dublin..there where 4 of them..
i would not disclose the exact location as i would fear they could be hunted..i only got a pic of 2 as the others ran off when they seen me..