Having successfully completed the mandate
of replenishing otter populations, the Otter Trust centres are no longer open
to the public.
However, we thought you might be interested to read about
our 2006 visit to this lovely location.
The oldest and largest otter conservation
centre in the world, The Otter Trust provides habitat for a variety of otter and
wildfowl species in a lovely estate beside the River Waveny. Though otters take
pride of place, there are also fallow deer, muntjac deer, curious wallabies, duck
and geese to enjoy.
The Otter Trust was begun in 1971 by Philip and Jeanne
Wayre. They purchased farmland on the banks of the River Waveney, on the border
between Suffolk and Norfolk, and established a charitable trust with the avowed
aim of providing habitat and caring for otters. Though the British otter is a
partuicular concern of the Otter Trust, the trust also cares for a variety of
other otters, including the Asian otter. The Trust has an ongoing system of reintroducing
otters back into the wild, and this program has been credited with successfully
saving otters from extinction in the Eastern counties of England.
There
are three lakes at Earsham, offering habitat to a variety of waterfowl, including
Egyptian and Barnacle geese. The Barnacle Geese are a special attraction at the
Otter Trust, with over 200 free roaming geese making this one of the largest flocks
in the UK. The geese are quite used to human visitors, and will often allow you
to come quite close. We visited in May, when the geese were breeding, and it was
quite astonishing to wander so freely among the nests scattered beside the path,
in the underbrush, or along the banks of the lakes. A few of the male geese were
noisily aggressive in warding us away if we came too close to the nest, but for
the most part the nesting females seemed unperturbed by our presence.
For
more information about the current status and activities of the Otter Trust, visit
their website http://www.ottertrust.org.uk/.
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