There has been a fuss about a female otter that may have been released against the rules in the Biesbosch. A nature organization hopes that the animal will seek the company of the male otter that was discovered in the nature reserve in March. The species had not been seen in the Biesbosch since 1960.
The male managed to find its own way to De Biesbosch National Park on the border of Brabant and South Holland. Then it was time to wait for a female.
Conservationists decided to lend a hand and released a female otter for the summer. That animal was found in a canal in Zwolle shortly after she was born. A wildlife sanctuary in Friesland bottle-fed the baby otter and then released it in the Biesbosch, something that only recently came out.
According to Staatsbosbeheer, this is not the way to ensure more otters in the Biesbosch. “We would have liked to see the natural process given space,” said forest ranger Harm Blom.
The state of affairs has now led to critical questions from the BBB, SGP and JA21 to the South Holland provincial government. It is not known whether the number of otters is a theme for Brabant politics and the provincial government.
In a response, the Biesbosch Nature and Bird Watch, which was involved in the release of the female otter, said that there was no illegal action. According to the organization, the nature protection law has not been violated.
The first images of the male otter: