When the population of an animal at risk of extinction increases, such as the otter in Italy, it is always fantastic news, first of all because it means that we still have some real hope of not ruining nature if we continue to increase our awareness (and change our behaviors) on these issues.
There are around a thousand otters in Italy today and they have increased compared to the 1980s, when there were just a hundred of them: we know this for sure thanks to the data collected from research carried out within the «Otter Project»financed by WWF Italy in collaboration with a team from the University of Molise coordinated by the professor Anna Loyone of the world’s leading experts on what is considered the queen of rivers in Europe, as the apex predator of the river ecosystem.
Giulia Fiori Photography
Identikit of the otter
About 120 centimeters long, including the tail, the otter is a carnivorous mammal with an elongated body and covered with thick dark fur; webbed paws (she is a sublime swimmer), small ears and nostrils that close when she goes underwater complete her anatomical profile according to the WWF.
It tends to live alone, if we exclude the breeding periods, and is fond of its territory which coincides with stretches of rivers and neighboring areas.
A. Cambone/R. Isotti
The areas where the otter has returned to Italy
Among the areas where we had no trace of the otter for decades and which are now seeing its return, there is the Alpine arc with regions such as Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige, Lombardy and Liguria.
It was then spotted after a temporary disappearance also in central Italy, in Lazio, in the Marche and in Tuscany, while there is still no trace of this mammal with a cute face in Piedmont, Umbria and Emilia-Romagna.
