Build a series of artificial holts for otters wherever a river seems unpolluted. A team at Essex University has now pioneered a method of analysing otter droppings for PCBs, aldrin, lindane and other pollutants. Cleaner rivers boost British otter population Summarised from information in an article by Nicholas Schoon, entitled 'Otters back from brink of extinction', in The Independent, and another by Sean Ryan, entitled 'Otters on the march again', in The Sunday Times. Sharp reductions in the use of pesticides have led to a revival of Britain's otter population, recently thought to have been on the brink of extinction. The renaissance is thought to be largely due to bans on pesticides such as DDT, Dieldrin and Aldrin, which had previously been seeping into the water supply and poisoning the otters' food supply.
Some areas show much healthier growth than others - a barometer of their rivers' purity.
No increase, for instance, was registered in the upper Severn region. Dr Elizabeth Andrews speculates that this could well be explained by local air pollution having acidified the river. You can give a rating to this scheme overall. Click 0-10 below and press the Submit button. DoBe.org or click on the image below.