The Otter

Back from the brink of extinction, the otter is making a come-back in Britain today. Author James Williams, a life-long enthusiast of this fascinating, enigmatic creature, dispells some of the mysteries in this beautifully-illustrated book:

• Reasons for the near-disappearance of the otter in the 1980s and the reasons for its recovery today

• Why otters patrol their territories and fight for them

• Breeding, natural history and behaviour

• Unusual otter information: blind otters, the work of otter groups, the difficulties of introducing otters in the wild, their surprising ability to live close to man

• Otters as predators - their impact on fish stocks, the difficulty of fish-hunting in cold water, their favourite foods

• Tracking otters through their prints, and through their spraints

• Helping the otter to survive in the 21st century