In which I realise I don’t know anything about otters in this part of the world.
Happy Otter Day!
Who doesn’t love an otter, am I right?
I am here to celebrate any animal every day, but when they have one all to themselves, I tend to push the boat out. Same with full moons that are named for animals, which you may have noticed, and especially if the animal is a featured versipelles (‘two skin’) in The Shapeshifters Of the Beau Monde series.
Imagine my dismay when Otter Day became known to me, and nary a one is to be found in any volume!
This lead me down a rabbit hole (ha, ha) of wondering if there were otters in England, then search engining, because obvs the first question was: otters in England?
Yes, there are otters in England! The European otter was dangerously close to dying out in the UK in 50s and 60s, but happily conservation efforts in the intervening years have succeeded and they are present in England and Wales.
Next question: otters in England Sussex.
There’s a hugely helpful page on the Sussex Wildlife Trust site, and an otter was spotted in a river in central Sussex in 2018; there’s video and all.
Further searching revealed a page that lists the best places to see otters in England, which yes: I want to see otters, but no: they’re not exactly un-endangered so it seems like a bad idea to point out where they live, given how rotten humans can be when it comes to animals.
Otters are related to beavers, badgers, weasels and pine martens, all members of the mustelid family. I have a colony of beavers who are the builders for the mixed pack headed by Alfred, Duke of Lowell, so they could easily have some cousins come to call… hmmmm… they could even be Irish otters, as they live here too!
FUN FACT: in Irish they are called madra uisce, or water dog. Water dogs!
All of the above is an example of how my mind works and how research leads to development. Keep an eye out, some adorable Lutra lutras may show up in a future novel!
See here for more info on the series!
Susanna Allen | Writer 
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