Is this an otter?

[Underdog 2,337]

 

 

I don't think mink have such feet if I remember correctly!

I think it was in some kind of fight by the blood around its mouth. The fox hounds had been through there recently!

[fred90 3,089]

i don't think there is any doubt that is a otter. I have only seen 2 dead ones that was in Scotland would love to see a live one

[Rimfireboy! 1,463]

Feet look like otter Nathan.

[Ratmanwan3 85]

Certainly looks like an otter. I've never seen a live one but have a stuffed one in my office. Mine is at lest double that size though. 

[Meece 1,957]

It doesnt matter but is this post in the wrong forum? Wouldn't it get a better viewing in general talk rather than rimfire, centre fire and shotguns. Yes it is a young otter. I wouldn't have thought that hounds would have nailed it because when they approached it would have just dived underwater. They don't exactly wander about out in the fields.

[Underdog 2,337]

1 hour ago, Meece said:

It doesnt matter but is this post in the wrong forum? Wouldn't it get a better viewing in general talk rather than rimfire, centre fire and shotguns. Yes it is a young otter. I wouldn't have thought that hounds would have nailed it because when they approached it would have just dived underwater. They don't exactly wander about out in the fields.

Your right. Get it moved.

It was on a water course.

Fish and the river tern are near by..

[peterhunter86 8,627]

3 hours ago, fred90 said:

i don't think there is any doubt that is a otter. I have only seen 2 dead ones that was in Scotland would love to see a live one

I got a glimpse of one years ago it was swimming underwater I heard it splash so I gave it a quick flash of the lamp an I seen it swim away my mate seen one on the same stretch years later said it was a big bugger walked right out infont of him said he shit himself 

[Meece 1,957]

2 minutes ago, sid g said:

an old boy told me that bop,heron and pike will take young otter

I can't  see that. Maybe a big pike might have a go at a very small baby otter when in the water but not the others. they are Fast, agile swimmers with powerful jaws and sharp teeth, river otters have few natural predators when they are in the water.  however, they must be wary of foxes. Even domestic dogs pose a threat when on land. there aren't many golden eagles or fish eagles about.

[cantona 310]

It wouldn't look like that if the hounds found it

[si brown 8,486]

they released a few into a valley with a river in my part of Yorkshire years ago,  they've  spread all over the spot now!

there a proper menace.. was night fishing once and put the lamp on the lake, there were 3 in that one lake!

find pike and carp with there guts ripped out still so nothings taking them out

[Elchapo 3,094]

Shame that would love to see them around me ,

[Underdog 2,337]

Once up Scotland stalking I was stood by a wee burn and a little young otter turned up and had a clean and scratch not three yards away. Their paws are quite dextrous. That must be 20 years ago now!

[Alsone 789]

23 hours ago, Underdog said:

I don't think mink have such feet if I remember correctly!

I think it was in some kind of fight by the blood around its mouth. 

 

100% an Otter. You can see a pic of the feet here in this Zoo (?) shot against the glass, plus the powerful tails a giveaway:




As for the cause of death, inland it's likely predators are going to be man, eagles and foxes in the UK. Most smaller animals are otter prey. Otters are members of the same family as badgers, mink etc so pretty powerful.

Can't rule out dogs but less likely. There are numerous instances of dogs and otters socialising and more aggressive dogs will have difficulty catching an otter. It's not impossible, but it's far more likely by stealth by eg by Mr. Fox using cunning. A dog is easily avoided by diving as dogs can only surface swim and an otter will simply dive to it's lodge or under tree roots etc. A pack of dogs such as from a hunt would be seen and heard from distance away and I would expect any otter on a bank to immediately take to the water and swim to it's lodge. 

 

17 hours ago, si brown said:

they released a few into a valley with a river in my part of Yorkshire years ago,  they've  spread all over the spot now!

there a proper menace.. was night fishing once and put the lamp on the lake, there were 3 in that one lake!

find pike and carp with there guts ripped out still so nothings taking them out

 

You have little to worry about. This is one of the reasons why otters get persecuted because they're stealing all the fish. However, the number of fish a couple are going to catch in a big lake is probably no different to what a couple of pike are going to take daily. In your garden pond it might be unsustainable. In the large lake, I very much doubt there will be any real impact. They tend to go for small fish anyway which are naturally preyed upon such as minnows and roach etc.

[foxdropper 17,092]

My money would be on another otter .As the young spread out they cross into territory already taken .Ive seen 4 otters in the past year here and none of them have been by water .

[jiggy 3,207]

Seen otters 2 miles away from rivers. I doubt a fox would tackle an otter either and certainly not an adult. A large dog otter would more likely kill a fox if attacked.