Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Otters facing fight for survival due to ‘poisoned seas’

Scottish otters are facing their biggest crisis in decades, say experts
Scottish otters are facing their biggest crisis in decades, say experts

A leading otter expert has claimed the animals are being killed by Scotland’s “poisoned” seas.

Research as revealed the mammals are only living a third as long as their counterparts on the continent.

The suspected cause is chemicals found in everyday products which have built up in the fish and shellfish they prey on.

It is thought the otter’s immune system has become weakened, making them susceptible to disease.

Hormone-disrupting chemicals – commonly found in shampoos and plastics – is also believed to be affecting reproduction rates.

The award-winning International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) on the Isle of Skye is involved in a major research project with Cardiff University studying the long-term pollution threat to otters.

Zoologist Dr Paul Yoxon, who runs the fund with his biologist wife Grace, said otters now faced their “biggest crisis” since Scottish naturalist and writer Gavin Maxwell helped save the species with his seminal book Ring of Bright Water.

The IOSF has been sending the corpses of otters to Glasgow and Cardiff universities for analysis for about 10 years, and the research has so far revealed that Scottish otters are living only to about five or six, while in Germany and the Czech Republic the same species survive for 15-16 years.

There are about 7,000 otters in Scotland out of a UK wide population of 10,000.

Dr Yoxon, 57, who together with his wife has rescued more than 180 otters over the years, said: “Toxicology tests have shown that they have accumulated high levels of cadmium and mercury in their bodies from the fish they eat.

“Those fish mainly originate in the North Sea, which traditionally has had high levels of industrial pollution.”

In the 1950s and 1960s otter numbers plummeted, largely because of pollutants including the now-banned organochlorines used in products such as sheep dip.

Dr Yoxon, who has worked on TV programmes Wildlife on One, The One Show, Animal Hospital and Blue Peter, said: “Although chemicals like organochlorines and PCBs have been banned, we do not know the effect of all the new chemicals, such as polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDEs), nor the cocktail effect of the combination of different chemicals in the environment.

“The disappearance of the otter in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s went largely unnoticed until, suddenly, everyone began to ask where all our otters had gone. We cannot afford to make the same mistake again.”