Recording Irish Otters- Become an Otter Spotter!

Have you found signs of the elusive Eurasian Otter in a river, lake, or coastal area? Upload the details of your sighting here. Become a Citizen Scientist and help us map the distribution of otters in your area.

Otters are a protected species under the European Habitats Directive. Information on their distribution is vital to informing effective conservation efforts and protective policy. 

Your records will contribute to National Otter Survey efforts and data be supplied to the National Biodiversity Data Centre https://biodiversityireland.ie/ 

Additional information on river barriers and human disturbance will help us understand how otter activity is related to these factors. We are also recording the presence of American Mink. 

For more information on how to recognise otter sign please contact otters@corknaturenetwork.ie

Otter Spotter
Name
Name
First
Last
Time
Signs, Sightings & Sounds
Click on each of the sightings above that you wish to record. The relevant form will appear below

Tracks

Otters have forward facing five toes (sometimes only 4 toes will imprint). Toes are teardrop shaped and webbing between them will sometimes be visible. Large, up to 9 cm long and 6 cm wide.

Maximum file size: 516MB

Spraint

Otter droppings used for communication. Can vary in colour depending on diet but usually black. Fish bones, scales may be visible. Fur is not common in otter spraint.
Where was the spraint?

Maximum file size: 516MB

description of

Slide

Areas where vegetation is worn away due to repeated use of the area by otters entering the water.

Maximum file size: 516MB

Couch

Day time resting places for otters. Identified by flattened vegetation and sometimes associated with spraint. Can be covered by vegetation or exposed.

Maximum file size: 516MB

Holt

Notice: Holts are protected by law. If you find a holt, please reduce your disturbance by being quiet and leaving promptly. Do not take an image of the holt. Information on the location of holts will not be shared with the public. Holts are dens used by otters for sleeping and resting. Commonly found under naturally forming holes along the bank side, eg. under tree roots and in rocky banks

Jelly

Digestive secretion used by otters to mark territory when no food has been consumed. Can vary in colour- orange, brown, yellow, green.
Where was the jelly?

Maximum file size: 516MB

Audible & Visual Sighting

Maximum file size: 516MB

Mink

Maximum file size: 516MB

River Modification
Click on each of the disturbances that are present at the time of this record

River

Modification

Footpath

0
Foot Traffic

Road

0
Road traffic

Other Observations

Maximum file size: 516MB

Funding Acknowledgement 

IMPETUS is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme

IMPETUS is supporting our project. IMPETUS is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101058677. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. 

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