I live in a village close to the River Tay ,great if your a Salmon fisherman . Not so good if you have Koi / Goldfish . Over the past month I have lost all my fish to an Otter .
Tarka's visiting time is between 1 and 3 am ,I initially thought it would be a Mink but once I adjusted the CCTV to cover the ponds I had good footage of the Otter .
The Koi were big fish he descales them and eats everything except the guts and gill plates ,with over 50 fish consumed the ponds are now empty .
Every effort was made to keep him/her out , baited traps were set ,I caught the local cat which was safely released . Other ponds in the village have been raided .
My ponds have been in situ for over 25 years WHY NOW . This time of year there would normally be lots of Kelts that are easy prey , the floods have washed them out to sea plus the Salmon runs are now very low .
The Otter has found an easy food supply and took full advantage . I still like Otters and have a new respect for their ability to survive . My aim now is to build an Otter proof pond before I restock .
