Local residents, Barbara and Kenneth Barnett, were walking near the river in Ross-on-Wye on Wednesday, January 2nd when they came across an otter scampering across the grass.

Although their populations are increasing, many people have never seen an otter in the wild, and it’s even harder to catch them out of the water, let alone in broad daylight.

Forty years ago, pollution and habitat destruction meant that otter populations declined severely all across the UK. Many people are excited by what is being referred to as ‘the great otter comeback’, and are on the look out for their own glimpses of otters in the wild.

Herefordshire remained a stronghold for otters even when the country’s overall populations declined, and the creatures are now known to live on every one of Herefordshire’s rivers.

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust (HWT) report that they regularly receive reports of otter sightings from across the county.

To see otters in the wild, HWT recommend choosing to look out for them during dawn and dusk. Observing other animals can hint at an otter’s presence, for example, a flock of ducks suddenly swimming rapidly away.

A tell-tale trail of bubbles might mean that the otter has seen you first, but belly-slide marks into water and paw prints in the mud are promising signs.