Otter Problems

[ViperaBerus]

Sounds more like the MO of a mink rather than otter. Otters eat what they catch and don't take bites out of animals. Mink regularly do though.

[nigel_b]

Originally Posted by ViperaBerus

Sounds more like the MO of a mink rather than otter. Otters eat what they catch and don't take bites out of animals. Mink regularly do though.

I hate to disagree but Paul Chanin's book "The Natural History of Otters" has a section on this and on p.54 there is a line drawing of exactly this, a fish with a bite out of the neck, plus some accompanying text describing this behaviour.

The text includes anecdotal testimony from water bailiffs (please don't start) who report coming across fish on the bank as you describe plus a published study (hooray!), Pring 1958, describing an otter returning to a fish it had killed the previous night.

Probably the best we can say is that this behaviour whilst not typical is certainly possible.

[The Woodman]

Following this thread with more than casual interest, I can agree that Otter does on occassions take a small part of a live carcass.

A local club has lost over £20k worth of carp and is now actively securing some of it's more productive waters where these measures can be installed and funded.

You will receive this information anecdotally of course, I have no peer reviewed published papers, only internal reports but have many years of dealing with fisheries, fencing and Otter professionally. However, I have the images both of fish, other mammals, birds and amphibians that have been preyed on by Otter including mass toad and stocked duckling predation.

Prings description of returning to prey is common, more so when it's been hauled and stashed in secure cover.

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by nigel_b

I hate to disagree but Paul Chanin's book "The Natural History of Otters" has a section on this and on p.54 there is a line drawing of exactly this, a fish with a bite out of the neck, plus some accompanying text describing this behaviour.

The text includes anecdotal testimony from water bailiffs (please don't start) who report coming across fish on the bank as you describe plus a published study (hooray!), Pring 1958, describing an otter returning to a fish it had killed the previous night.

Probably the best we can say is that this behaviour whilst not typical is certainly possible.

I thought this was common knowledge to be honest. We've always called it - unsurprisingly - an 'otter-bite', usually a bite out of the shoulder. Last one I found was a salmon on the River Add in Argyll a couple of years ago.

[Burko]

Originally Posted by Lincs Yellowbelly

I caught a fish last year with a large triangular piece of flesh missing

Would an otter create a triangular bite mark?

[The Woodman]

I'm not quite visualising a triangular bite mark. Was flesh removed? How much? What size?

Cormorants make a "T" shaped mark with their beak tips and many fish are initially grabbed but due to their size are not lifted but released. I've seen tench and other fish with multiple marks.

I'm sure individual Otters have their own subtle methods of catching and eating their preferred choice bits. For example, the carp stock in Holehird Tarn near Windermere was decimated by one dog Otter who only ate the stomachs and left the rest. The predation stopped when he was killed crossing the road to the tarn.

As Jonathan says shoulder bites are common, likewise I've seen Salmon with these. This might be the result of a riverine hunting strategy rather than stillwater.

[Burko]

This is probably waaaaay out there, but an image of a snapping turtle came to mind. They have been found in uk waters before now.

Just something from the depths of my warped mind

[The Woodman]

You never know - always expect the unexpected!

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

The bite mark was on the wrist of the tail, around 3in at the top tapering down the side. After doing some research I found that otters can often leave such a mark, this was back in October when the fish was active and probably to powerful for the predator to hold on to. I treated the carp with a lot of anti-septic gel and released him, i think it'll live.

[ViperaBerus]

Originally Posted by nigel_b

I hate to disagree but Paul Chanin's book "The Natural History of Otters" has a section on this and on p.54 there is a line drawing of exactly this, a fish with a bite out of the neck, plus some accompanying text describing this behaviour.

The text includes anecdotal testimony from water bailiffs (please don't start) who report coming across fish on the bank as you describe plus a published study (hooray!), Pring 1958, describing an otter returning to a fish it had killed the previous night.

Probably the best we can say is that this behaviour whilst not typical is certainly possible.

I stand corrected, thanks for that info.