A slow comeback for the endangered Eurasian otter in France
By: Pierre Fidenci, president of Endangered Species InternationalSpecial to mongabay.com
August 29, 2010
 Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) in Southwold, England. Photo by: Catherine Trigg. |
Until the early 1980s, otters were heavily hunted for their fur, food and as a pest in aquaculture fields. Their sharp decline was accelerated by significant water pollution (e.g., DDT/DDE, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and metal mercury), as well as habitat destruction and fragmentation, which both remain the current dominant threats. The slow increase in range and the number of otters in France is clearly attributed to three main causes. The first is the legal protection of the species in 1972 and 1981 including the ban on using jaw traps in 1994. The second one is the significant water quality improvement achieved in many water bodies over decades. Finally, construction of otter tunnels under roads and passages at various hydroelectric dams have saved many otters' lives. Between 1980 and 1990, 4 (direct counts of dead individuals) to 20 otters (estimates) were killed each year by vehicles in the region of Bretagne, accounting for 5 percent of the estimated population. Hundreds of tunnels and passages have being build since 1980s. For example, along the Highway A89, 45 tunnels alone were constructed including the installation of remote cameras to evaluate their efficiency. The cost associated with this type of infrastructures (e.g. ledges, underpasses, fencing) is generally low ranging from 75 to several hundred Euros per linear meter of construction, the total cost usually not exceeding 20,000 Euros. The same underpasses are often beneficial to other wildlife species like amphibians. It is also important to note that in the 1980s, the Eurasian Otter became an important flagship species for French conservation groups including Société National de Protection de la Nature (SNPN) and WWF France, which promoted conservation awareness and activities for otters.
 Feces of Eurasian otter. Photo by: Pierre Fidenci. |
Very slowly but surely, the Eurasian otter is coming back in France, but at this pace, it may take another century to re-conquer most of its historical range.
Habitat occupied by the Euarsian otter. Photo by: Pierre Fidenci.
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