Consider us otter-ly gobsmacked at the news that a rare sighting of – you guessed it – an otter has been spotted among the financial district of London. And it wasn’t on its way in for a working day, but was sighted via recorded security camera footage on a dock at Canary Wharf.
The sighting of the creature was on the camera owned by Hannah Green and Tom Hill, local residents who live on a boat and the footage showed the otter appearing to check out the boats along the edge of the water.
It’s being hailed as a major win for rewilding and conservation efforts in the city, and the hope is that later they will further reintgrated into the capital.
Speaking on the news, Ellie Newton, co-founder of Citizen Zoo, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic to see footage of a healthy-looking otter captured on CCTV moving through the highly urbanised Canary Wharf area. This is a wonderful reflection of the recovery otters have experienced in recent decades, having faced near extinction in the mid-20th century.Across the UK, their return is a powerful reminder that species can bounce back when given the opportunity.
“That said, otters remain a rare sight in Greater London, but in a future where we more fully embrace nature within the city, and work to improve the quality of habitats in our rivers and the water itself, it would be wonderful if sightings like this became far more common.”
The Eurasian otter was close to extinction in many parts of England, but has been making a comeback due to conservation efforts and improving water quality, and are sometimes now spotted in urban areas like London, Birmingham, and Sheffield. There is also a committmenet by the Mayor Of London of over £800,000 to support the reintroduction of otters to London’s waterways over the next three years.
While otters are typically elusive creatures, maybe you’ll be next to catch sight of one in the City Of London.
