The Eurasian Otter at Erimitis

The  Lutra lutra is considered one of the rarest and most endangered mammals in Europe. The Eurasian Otter is surely also the most nocturnal and elusive inhabitant of Erimitis.

Mr. Graham Roberts, a retired ecologist with nearly 40 years of experience has proven this to us with his recent surveys: one conducted in autumn 2021 and the second one this spring. His findings and his conclusions were both wonderful and astonishing. “Seven sites [in Corfu]proved positive for otter [only otter spraint was considered positive], including the three wetlands contained within the unspoiled peninsula between Avlaki Beach and Agios Stefanos [Erimitis]”.

In short, only on 6 of the 6,000 Greek Islands otters can survive and one of them is Corfu, due to its varied wetland resources: Although many rivers are little more than temporary streams, their estuaries together with the sea coasts provide adequate food, refuge and continuous access to other parts of the island for a small and transient otter population all year round.

When a population is relatively small the spatial, coastal movement, can be quite considerable, otters will happily move over relatively large distances of 40km or cross over to the extensive Buntrint National Park in mainland Albania “This makes their very presence on Corfu of national importance to Greece’s natural biodiversity. […] With the pressures of climate change and human activity, the future for small island populations of otters may hang in the balance.” We need to act now.

Thanks to @Georgios Geor for the amazing otter picture

In the photo otter spraint in Erimitis