A GROUP of otters have been spotted playing in the River Frome in Ebley.

Darren Edney posted a video on Facebook showing three or four of them swimming around near Fifth Dimension Community Leisure Gym and Health Club.

Emma Bradshaw of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust said: “It is rare to see an otter in daylight as they are more active at dawn and dusk.

“We get a regular amount of otters reported but more people are now sharing them on social media so it appears there are more sightings.

“We can’t predict otter population size as there’s no way to do it accurately but activity along the River Frome and the canal appears to be stable.

“Otter deaths on the road tend to increase at times of flooding as otters have to cross roads when bridges, culverts and rivers are impassable.

“Last week there was a road casualty on the outskirts of Tetbury so if people could be wary when driving at dawn and dusk and at times of flooding.”

Dr. Gareth Parry, head of community programmes at the Wildlife Trust added: “There are signs that otters have bred earlier in this area this year possibly due to the warmer climate.”

The Trust has had sightings reported from around the Ebley Mill area, Brimscombe and Stonehouse on both the River Frome and Stroudwater canal.

 

 

I've had quite a few reports of otters on the Frome recently - generally it's rare to see them even at night, even more so during the day.

Posted by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust around Stroud on Wednesday, 13 January 2016