IN recent weeks, during daylight hours, two otters, a mother and a cub, have occasionally been seen along the River Wharfe.

For those people lucky enough, I am struck by how much pleasure and enjoyment they bring.

Female otters look after their cubs for about a year after they are born. This is a very dependent relationship.

She will teach them how to find food and cope in a varied and changing river environment. However, she also supplements their efforts to forage by providing them with food.

On several occasions, I have watched this mother and cub (even though the cub is now quite well-grown), swim rapidly to the riverbank, or to a rock or fallen tree, where the mother deposits something she has caught.

The cub eagerly tucks in with not so much as a ‘thank you’. Sound familiar? Meanwhile the mother is off, foraging again.

This is a very challenging period for her and it is probably why they are active during the day. It is important, if we see them, that we recognise this and don’t disturb their feeding. People have suggested to me that these Otters are becoming more accustomed to people and, to some degree, it may be so (although maintaining a healthy wariness could be a vital asset for them).

They do seem reasonably tolerant of being observed from a far riverbank. However, we shouldn’t underestimate how ‘on guard’ they are when foraging. It might not be immediately apparent, but they are perpetually scanning the riverbanks for threats (see photograph).

Related to this, keeping dogs under close control, at these times, is critical. Pet dogs (even small ones) and Otters are not a good mix. Moreover, Otter cubs may be unsuspecting and naïve, and even a quick ‘nip’ from a dog could cause infection.

The way these Otters use the river environment points to the importance of maintaining sufficient riverbank vegetation – and undisturbed places along the riverbank for wildlife.

This provides them with somewhere that food can be exchanged between mother Otter and cub, it means they can get out of the water from time to time (being in cold water is energetically demanding, even for an Otter), and it means that they can be out feeding during the daytime ‘on their own terms’.

If they are not happy with the proximity of people or dogs they have somewhere to retreat to. Although the best thing is to make sure they don’t need to!