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| Common Name: | European Otter | Family: | Mustelidae |
| Latin Name: | Lutra lutra | Diet: | Carnivore |
| Type: | Mammal | Habitat: | Oceans and wetlands, |
| Native To: | Africa, Europe, Asia | Social Unit: | Group |
| IUCN Red List Status: | Near threatened |
European otters at Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo has three European otters: a male, a female, and one of their young. Our male European otter is called Timi. He came from Bern, Switzerland, and was born 2006. Our female came from Stuttgart, and was born 2003. Both arrived here at Edinburgh Zoo in 2008. They produced a litter in 2009 whilst in their quarantine enclosure, but sadly, the cubs died when they were young, as sometimes happens in the wild. Another cub was born late in 2009 after the pair was moved to the duck pond complex. The EEP for this species is run by Edinburgh Zoo.
Where it can be found at Edinburgh Zoo & Highland Wildlife Park
Our European otters can be seen in the large pond complex at the bottom of the Zoo.
European otters in the wild
The European otter (Lutra lutra lutra) is a sub-species of the species known as the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra). The European otter is a freshwater otter, and is found in Europe and northern Africa as well as parts of Asia. They are very playful animals, and have been observed seeming to take great enjoyment from such pastimes as sliding down muddy banks and playing in the snow.
The diet of the European otter consists mainly of fish, but it will also eat birds, insects, crustaceans and amphibians. It might occasionally also prey on other small mammals such as voles. Otters are part of the mustelid family, which also includes animals like weasels, stoats, and ermines. The otter has the basic mustelid shape of a long, slim body. However, it shows numerous adaptations to life in the water, such as webbed toes and a powerful, rudder-like tail that it uses to propel and steer itself through the water.
European otters are strongly territorial and tend to live alone, avoiding contact with other otters except for reproduction. The range of an individual European otter varies between 1 – 25 miles (1 – 40 km) with the average range usually being around 11 miles (18 km). The size of an otter’s territory depends on the availability of food.
One of the main threats to the European otter is pollution and degradation of its aquatic habitat. Activities such as damming rivers, draining of wetlands, and vegetation removal along river banks can all have a significant negative impact on otter populations. Otters also suffer from food contamination caused by water-borne pollutants such as mercury, DDT/DDE, and others. These toxins can be absorbed by the fish otters feed upon. Otters that live close to coastal areas are also highly vulnerable to oil spills.
The population numbers of the European otter have declined due to these and other threats. Because of this population decline, the European otter has been categorised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Near Threatened, meaning that the species is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.
Breeding programme category: EEP
IUCN Red List category: Near Threatened
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