The remarkable resurgence of otters in South Tyneside is set for a £28,500 boost!
Otter numbers in the UK plummeted to near extinction in the 1970s, but they are now on the rise.
The recovery has seen the creatures return to the River Don after an absence of more than 50 years.
And South Tyneside Council's Countryside Team is planning to help the comeback continue after securing a grant from SITA.
Councillor Barrie Scorer, Lead Member Environment and Transport, said: "We have received £28,500 through our involvement in the Durham Biodiversity Partnership, which was awarded over £140,000 by SITA to make the whole area more otter friendly.
"We plan to spend the money on improving otter habitats and installing mammal bridges in road underpasses. Local people and community groups can also play their part by getting involved in planting around the new otter habitats that we create.
"This really is wonderful news - it is fantastic to see otters back on the River Don, and this funding will enable us to improve the area for otters and help their re-establishment on our waterways. The project will start around April next year."
Otters had not been recorded on the River Don for at least 50 years but in 2003, the Council's Countryside Team found otter droppings in Hedworth.
Since then, other signs of otters including otter footprints have been recorded regularly along the full length of the River Don.
Then, last month, an otter was caught on camera trying to take fish from a garden pond in Jarrow!
The pond's owner had suspect otters were visiting his garden after fish went missing earlier this year.
He contacted the WildPlaces project, run by North East Wildlife Trusts, which set up a camera in his garden.
And the footage, in which the otter is thwarted by a net the owner had placed over the pond, can be viewed via the WildPlaces project website: www.urbanwildplaces.co.uk
Anyone interested in finding out more about the return of the otter to the North East can book a place at a free talk on the subject, which takes place in February as part of the Council's Countryside Events programme.
Jim Cokill, director of Durham Wildlife Trust, will be at Jarrow Community Association in Cambrian Street, to chart the return of the otter to the North East in this illustrated talk from 7pm to 8pm on Wednesday, February 3.
The events programme is available in libraries, tourist information centres and online at: www.southtyneside.info/environment/countryside
For further information, or to have a copy posted out, call the Council's Countryside Officer, Clare Rawcliffe, on (0191) 424 7423 or email: clare.rawcliffe@southtyneside.gov.uk
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