Week Eight – Otters

Bill and the team head up to Newcastle to investigate a number of otter deaths on the busy A1 at Seaton Burn. So many otter cubs have died on the road that the entire breeding population living on Big Waters lake close to the road may be wiped out completely.

First the team must work out why the otters are crossing the road – can they be stopped? Once again Sasha gets her hands dirty rummaging around in poo. She finds trout bones in otter spraint at Big Waters, but trout are only found downstream of the lake on the other side of the A1.

Since the trout stream is an important foraging ground for the otters, they need access to it. The only option is to give them safe passage across the road.

Jem and Dusty plot the position of all the road kills. Ironically, all the deaths have happened just above a culvert that should be giving the otters safe passage under the A1. Why aren't they using it?

Jem finds a very high water mark in the culvert that suggests that it sometimes gets full of fast flowing water – fast enough to drown an otter. It turns out that nearly all the deaths have indeed happened after heavy rainfall when the otters have returned from a trout fishing trip to find the culvert full and fast flowing. They don't attempt the culvert, but climb the banks and cross the A1 instead.

The team have their work cut out. They dredge the stream either side of the culvert to remove blockages and regulate water flow. Jem sets about constructing a steel otter bridge that sits above the high water mark and allows the otters to walk through the culvert without even getting their paws wet!

After days of graft, the team is delighted to witness their first customer crossing the bridge!

See the story in pictures in the gallery.