WHILE wildlife experts are rejoicing at the return of the otter to the Forest, another fine animal has fallen victim to traffic – the second reported to the Review this year.
The otter, a male animal in its prime, was discovered lying beside the main road at Speculation, near Speech House, not very far from Brierley where a female otter was killed on the road in June this year.
Graham Baldwin, who found the animal, said he had taken a different route from normal on the way from his home in Ross to do some part-time work at a Joy's Green sawmill.
"What a shame – it's a fine animal. It's the first time I have ever seen an otter," he said. "At first I thought it was a fox because they do look dark when it's wet sometimes.
"I found myself wondering if some of these big cat reports might be an otter – when you are walking in the woods and something this size crosses your path you could be forgiven for thinking it's out of the ordinary.
"I imagine they get in the Forest for trout in the little streams which they find easy to catch. I expect it is the other half of the animal found earlier this year."
The Review was the first newspaper in the area to break the story in March this year that Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust knew there were otters back in the Forest.
The news came with the warning that many of the culverts carrying ditches and streams under roads in the forest, which otters might safely use without going on to the roads, were blocked up.
The organisation urged members of the public to report blocked or obstructed watercourses which would then be cleared with the help of Forest Enterprise.
Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust can be contacted on 01452 383333.