SEVERAL videos have been posted to social media of an otter wandering the streets of Aberystwyth on Monday morning.

The otter was seen near the seafront, near Baravin before heading up Eastgate and towards Great Darkgate Street.

A video posted over the weekend also showed an otter walking along the A487 in Bow Street.

It is unclear what has driven the otter to venture into populated areas, with those who have witnessed the creature saying they have reported the sighting to Natural Resources Wales.

The RPSCA advises that people to not attempt to handle otters, as it may bite you and anyone else trying to help it.

Otter Bow Street
Rachel Southgate captured this footage of an otter on the road in Bow Street over the weekend (Rachel Southgate)

Otters are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. This means it’s an offence to wilfully kill, injure, capture or disturb otters except under licence.

It’s also illegal to damage, destroy or stop them from accessing their breeding sites or shelters, even if the otters aren’t currently using them, or to disturb them while they’re sheltering somewhere.

Dr Carol Fielding, Ceredigion Environment Team Leader for Natural Resources Wales, said: “We have had a number of reports of otters being seen in built up areas around Aberystwyth yesterday and this morning (8 April). By the time we went to investigate, no otter could be found.

Otter
Joy Evans captured this footage of an otter in the river at Clarach. She added that it was being followed by gulls (Joy Evans)

“It is important that people should not approach a wild otter as it will cause stress to the animal but we thank everyone who has taken the time to watch out for otters especially when they have been on roads.

“It is not appropriate for wild healthy otters to be caught and returned to the sea or river. They are capable of finding their own way back, and need to be given the space to do this. We think the recent stormy weather may have caused some disruption to their usual travelling patterns and this is why the animals are being seen in unusual places.

“We urge anyone who sees an injured or dead otter to contact our Incident line on 0300 065 3000 or online via our online reporting tool.”

Have you seen the otter? Let us know by emailing [email protected]