Sussex Wildlife
Ten things you never knew about...
Above: A rare sight in Sussex
Otters
• Males grow surprising big (to the size of a large dog) reaching 1.2 metres from nose to tail
• Are nocturnal and can travel up to 25 miles per night patrolling their territory
• Breed throughout the year with females giving birth to between one-three cubs after a 63 day pregnancy
• Cubs are born blind and helpless with a covering of fine grey hair
• An otters den is called a holt
• The collective noun for otters is ‘a romp’
• Cubs will venture outside after two months but do not become fully self sufficient until one year old
• They live up to seven years in the wild
• Otters experienced a massive population crash in the 1960s mainly due to agricultural pesticides draining into our rivers
• There have been no sightings of Otters in Sussex since the 60s but their droppings have been found indicating they still pass through the county – let us know if you see one!
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