London Wildlife Trust has found evidence that otters are using the River Wraysbury near Heathrow Airport.

Our water vole team spotted an otter footprint in January in the clay bed of a mink raft in Harmondsworth Moor. A second otter print has now been found at Denham Lock Woods, on the River Colne.

Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL) records show only two other recent otter sightings in London: one at Redbridge in August 2002 and otter droppings in Enfield in July 2003. The footprint is GIGL’s first firm record of an otter in west London.

Otter populations began to decline in the 1950s, mainly because of pesticide use. The first national distribution survey in 1977 found no otters in London. In the last national distribution survey, carried out by the Environment Agency in 2000-2002, there were five positive records of otters in London but they were all in the far north of the capital.

Have you seen an otter?  Let us know via the GiGL website.