otter in kells

dotpower

Hi people, I went fishing today in the kells blackwater and while walking along the bank I came across a dead otter, I thought he was asleep or hiding as he was healthy looking... Turned out he was dead, poor creature. Up further under trees and on a very fishable bend in the low grass I came upon shells mussels and crab claws.. Maybe bizzum or somebody can tell me why? I just hope the otter wasnt poisoned.. Its in club waters

mawk

sudden otter death syndrome?

Zzippy

Any obvious signs of injury? I very much doubt he was poisoned from eating any aquatic food, by the sounds of it there was plenty of food including mussels and crayfish. It may have just been sick/old and it was time to die, wild animals don't have very long lifespans in most cases.
Maybe worth a call to the local wildlife ranger to let them know, if they are worried about poison they can pick up the carcass and get it analysed...

ironbluedun

I fish the blackwater regularly, so this has caught my eye, maybe the otter died naturally. I have never heard of anybody ever trying to poison otters. They are a sign of a healthy river, a good sign in my book.

Is it possible that a dog could have killed it?

dotpower

ironbluedun wrote: »

I fish the blackwater regularly, so this has caught my eye, maybe the otter died naturally. I have never heard of anybody ever trying to poison otters. They are a sign of a healthy river, a good sign in my book.

Is it possible that a dog could have killed it?

doubt a dog killed it, it wasnt even ruffled... may be as another poster said he doubts it was the mussels or bits of crab..... but excuse my ignorance i didnt realise a river about 25 miles from the sea would contain these......

Octopus

dotpower wrote: »

doubt a dog killed it, it wasnt even ruffled... may be as another poster said he doubts it was the mussels or bits of crab..... but excuse my ignorance i didnt realise a river about 25 miles from the sea would contain these......

Our otters are both fresh and salt water otters, mainly fresh water. I have seen quite a lot when fishing rivers at night.

Bizzum

I'm afraid I'm not much help on this. A few points though. I would doubt poisoning, there are plenty of Otters along the Blackwater and it's likely more would be affected. For this reason as suggested above by Zzippy the NPWS would be worth a call. PM me if you need a contact number.
I wonder is this the time of year the youngsters (from last year) are seeking new territory? Maybe a clash to death with a resident male?

I'd be interested to know the cause of death. So I would urge you to let the NPWS know about it.

Zzippy

dotpower wrote: »

doubt a dog killed it, it wasnt even ruffled... may be as another poster said he doubts it was the mussels or bits of crab..... but excuse my ignorance i didnt realise a river about 25 miles from the sea would contain these......

Freshwater mussels and crayfish, just freshwater species very similar to their marine counterparts.

Bizzum wrote: »

I'm afraid I'm not much help on this. A few points though. I would doubt poisoning, there are plenty of Otters along the Blackwater and it's likely more would be affected. For this reason as suggested above by Zzippy the NPWS would be worth a call. PM me if you need a contact number.
I wonder is this the time of year the youngsters (from last year) are seeking new territory? Maybe a clash to death with a resident male?

I'd be interested to know the cause of death. So I would urge you to let the NPWS know about it.

Good call, very plausible explanation.