Mersey Me, Is That An Otter?

Good news for nature lovers in Liverpool this week as it is rumoured that otters have returned to the Mersey.

Otter Photograph, Copyright Denise Davies AssocCIPD mIAB

Although there have been no actual otter sightings recorded, the Forestry Commission’s rangers have discovered otter footprints near the river at Fiddler’s Ferry, apparently.

Otters have not inhabited The Mersey for over twenty years, as the river has not been clean enough for animals to survive.  In the 1980s, the then Secretary of State, Michael Heseltine visited Merseyside and stated that The Mersey was “an affront to the standards a civilised society should demand of its environment”.

He is recorded as saying that: “Untreated sewage, pollutants, noxious discharges all contribute to water conditions and environmental standards that are perhaps the single most deplorable feature of this critical part of England.” If we were not a serious, cutting edge, impartial news reporting organisation, we may make some snide comment referencing irony here, but we are, so we won’t.

Anyway, the otters clearly agreed and moved away from Liverpool in the late ‘80s.  Since then The Mersey Basin Campaign has been working to get the river clean.  The sightings of otter footprints are said to be an “exciting” step in the clean up process.

The newly cleaned river is now also home to other creatures, including salmon.

We asked the fans for a comment on today’s topic.  Chimp offered us this little insight.

“Otters are brown. That’s my favourite bit.”  This is what we have to work with.

We would have asked Bee for her views on the topic, but at the mention of otters she expels a strange sound, that can be best described as a “Squeee…” If you are in the vicinity of America, and hear this sound there is no need to panic or call the authorities, it is just that she has seen the picture attached to this story.

You can read the full report here:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-15852705

And you can “like” us here: www.facebook.com/newsnibbles ah go on.

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