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Natural construction site / The otter
 A symbol of water and life quality !
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The European otter is part of the Mustelids family as same as the Badger and the Polecat. It has a longish body, short ears, a flat head, a strong tail and 4 webfeet with which this animal is perfectly adapted to the aquatic milieu. Long whiskers play a main role in localisating their prey under water. Its thick coat is impermeable and retains air also playing a role as thermal protection against the ambient milieu.
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The otter possesses other adoptions like an underwater vision, nostrils and ears closing hermetically by plunging. The otter can weight 'till 12 kg and becomes up to 130 cm long, with tail. It possesses an anal gland to mark his territory. There is a pronounced sexual dimorphism. Males are always bigger than females.
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Reproduction, there is no season !
The otter can reproduce any time of year. During rut time, the male meets the female on his territory. It's the only moment the otters live as couple during some days. The gestation lasts around 60 days. Usually, females give birth to two 20 cm long children weighting 100 g. They are born blind and begin to go into water and learn to swim only since the third month. With 8 months they begin to be autonomic. An adult lives around 5 years in natural milieu.
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Alimentation, almost every day friday !
The otter feeds basically on comparative small (10 to 15 cm) fishes (50 to 95%). It doesn't select his prey but feeds often on the most available species without or with a small economic interest (Bullhead, Loach).
The otter can occasionally attack insects, mollusks, crawfishes, amphibians, reptiles, water birds and some mammalians (rats,...).
An otter eats between 0,8 and 1,5 kg fish and other preys per day.
His ecology
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The otter lives along water rivers and aquatic milieus riche in fishes. It inhabits places still preserved by man where it can find shelter.
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Even though the otter lives in water to catch its prey, it isn't less dependent of the environ terrestrial milieu for shelters and terriers (to raise their children). It is nocturnal. During the day, it looks for a quiet, hardly accessible place like dense willow bushes, abandoned rat terriers, caves in trees or rocks.
Otters are very mobile species using many daily shelters, leading a solitary life and marking their territory with their dejections. They deposit them on visible places to hold off male or female intruders.
A umbrella species
Although, the otter registrations made by the University of Liège in 2001 still confirmed his presence in the Our valley, registrations in 2006 remained negative.
Is it justifiable to restore a habitat for an animal which obviously isn't there?
Several elements have to be mentioned to answer this question:
1) The otter is a nocturnal animal, so, difficult to detect. Even their traces are hardly findable and easily confusable with other species. It's maybe the reason why we coudn't find it since 2006.
2) Since 10 years, we observe a slow recolonization (8 km water course/year) in the North of Germany and Central France. This recolonization is due to the presence of corridors. The drainage basins of Our, Sûre and Deux Ourthes constitue migration corridors for otters which allows to reconnect the french and german populations. To restore the otter's habitat means therefore to prepare for the "Day X" when the otter will be able settle down here.
3) Finally, because of the vital space's big size and its requirements to its milieu the otter is a so called umbrella species. A lot of other species sharing the habitat with it, but needing less space, benefit from this restoration: fishes, amphibians, pearl mussels,... Furthermore, the otter awakes the public opinion and his sympathie and acts as a figurehead for realisation of nature protection.
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