The discovery of the Otter in Meijendel started in December 2024 with the find of a leg print. Now it appears that it is a female otter, with a young. On images from a wild camera, the mother can be seen with a young one about six months old by her side, experts from the Otterstation Nederland Foundation confirm.
Otter makes a debut in Duinen near Wassenaar and that is reason to party with nature managers: “Most beautiful thing that can happen to us!”
Tour of more than forty kilometers
Arjen de Groot, genetic ecologist at the Wageningen Environmental Research: “We can see from the genetic composition of this otter that she is a descendant of the Dutch population and comes from the Nieuwkoop lakes. The likely parents are an Otterman and Ottervrouw who live there and that we know they have had a litter.” The Otter has therefore made a trip of approximately 40 km ”.
That this female now seems to feel at home there, prove the images of a wild camera on which she can be seen together with her young. According to expert, the young is still very dependent on the mother: they travel together in the area. Mother also gives the young swimming lessons and teaches the young to hunt for fish.
Nature area closed
The Otterstation Nederland Foundation is happy with the Otter location. “We cherish the location of this protected species and all other special animals in our area. That is why the majority of our nature reserve is closed to visitors. At the places where visitors are welcome, we ask everyone to stay on the hiking trails and to lines dogs. Everyone ultimately benefits from that.”