A foreign fluke is killing our otters.  There has been a spate of unexplained otters deaths in Somerset. Eight otter corpses were found in a region of the Somerset Levels in the summer of 2006, including 6 in a month. Somerset Wildlife Trust’s otter specialists are still baffled as to the cause.

Meanwhile, a parasite previously confined to Somerset’s small otter population has been discovered in dead otters around Exeter and Salisbury.  The fluke, thought to have originated in Eastern European ornamental fish, which were released into the county’s watercourses is infecting the otters.

The parasitic fluke was found during post mortems funded by the Environment Agency and carried out at the Wildlife Veterinary Investigation Centre in Cornwall. While the fluke does not kill the otters directly, it can cause liver disease and jaundice, which weakens them and makes them more vulnerable to other threats.

For 2 years, the parasite has been found only in otter corpses from the Somerset Levels but cases have now been found further afield. James Williams, chairman of the trust’s otter group, said "We have had a cluster of unexplained deaths in one small area, either side of the Polden Hills. It is extremely worrying and unusual because this is the time of year when we don’t usually find dead otters.  We get a steady trickle of otter deaths scattered all over the county, a fluctuating amount with July normally being a very low month. We don’t know why it’s happening."

Dead otters are usually found on roads but Mr. Williams and fellow conservationists fear many more may have died elsewhere and are undiscovered. This marked increase in fatalities in Somerset comes at a time when the species is under increasing pressure.

Otter lovers are doing their best to find out just how bleak the picture is, through survey work and encouraging the public to report deaths of otters (and mink, which carry the same parasite) so that corpses can be examined.

To report an otter casualty or join Somerset Wildlife Trust, call 01823-652400. For more information about the trust visit the website: www.somersetwildlife.org