Good news for animal lovers and anyone planning to visit the Dutch capital soon: For the first time in almost 50 years, an otter has been spotted in Amsterdam. The daily newspaper Het Parool reported a few days ago that a local resident had found otter tracks in the sand in IJburg, a residential area in the east of the city. The Dutch Mammal Society, a non-governmental organization that works to protect wild mammals, immediately took charge of the discovery.
Ecologist Geert Timmermans is absolutely certain that they came from an otter, an animal that became extinct in the Netherlands in the 1980s and has been slowly being reintroduced since 2002. The exact whereabouts of the mammal have not been made public because it is not a good idea to have it tracked down by eager visitors. However, its presence is a clear sign that the water in Amsterdam is slowly becoming cleaner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIWbjgPYcJY
Polluted waters have always been a decisive factor in the extinction of the otter, as it thrives in all types of freshwater habitats – as long as the waters are clear and rich in fish. The extensive construction of canals and roads as well as heavy traffic have also proved to be a hindrance: The otter’s preferred habitat is actually shallow rivers with overgrown banks and floodplains that provide ample hiding places.
To solve this problem, culverts have been built under roads in many places – both in the Netherlands and in Germany. Nevertheless, traffic remains one of the biggest threats to the otter. Hopefully it will not disturb Amsterdam’s cutest inhabitants.