Otters seen for first time in 70 years at nature restoration site

Otters have made a return at a nature restoration project in Hampshire – the first confirmed sightings in the spot for more than 70 years.

A mother otter and pup have been spotted at Ewhurst Park, a 925-acre former shooting estate bought in 2020 by environmentalist and former model, Mandy Lieu, who has set about restoring it into an “edible landscape” for nature and sustainable food production.

The team at Ewhurst said they had captured footage on wildlife cameras showing the mother and pup playing, swimming, scent marking and using bark from a fallen tree to groom their fur.

Beavers have also been introduced into an enclosure in the park, producing kits last year in what was the first time the species had bred in Hampshire in 400 years.

Otter populations crashed in the UK to near extinction in the 1950s and 1960s because of industrial chemicals and pesticides which caused death and reproductive failure in the mammals, but have slowly recovered since the 1970s, following bans on the chemicals and legal protection.

In Hampshire, they have increased steadily, with 7% of sites surveyed occupied by otters in 1977, rising to 37% in 2009, the last time a national otter survey was completed, but there have been no confirmed sightings at Ewhurst Park since at least the 1950s, the team said.

“Otters prefer clean freshwater so our newest residents are a sign that water quality is improving – testament to our nature restoration efforts here at Ewhurst Park.”

Fiona Kenny, Ewhurst Park’s head of ecology management added: “Our ambition here at Ewhurst Park is to restore ecological processes and systems within the landscape so that it can function properly and provide for its inhabitants with minimal management.

“The level of nature recovery we saw in 2024 has been incredible which really confirms that we’re on the right track,” she said.