Otters on the River Garonne

Image courtessy of www.riparianchurch.com (I wish this was my pic, but who knows if i am patient I might get an image like this if I am lucky!)


Just had to tell everyone as I am so excited, silly really, but being a country lass at heart I am easily pleased by unusual wildlife and new discoveries.

This week I have a friend staying here with her daughter, so in order to introduce her to our beautiful village of Auvillar we went for a quick tour around yesterday in freezing temperatures. The village was quiet and most of the town houses had their shutters closed either to keep in the warm or to shut out the cold.

In order to show her the spectacular views while the kids played in the playground opposite the Tea Rooms we took a stroll to the look out point. Whilst describing what we could see in the way of villages and scenery we noticed how the river had frozen along the Southern bank. At that moment we saw an otter swim across the river. When it reached the ice edge it turned around and swam the 200m back to the other bank. Initially I was not sure if what I was seeing was actually an otter but as it turned for the return trip back to the northern bank I saw its distinctive white neck and thick tail. Such a treat for braving the freezing temperatures.

Guess who will be paying more visits over the comming months to the look out to see if there is more than one of these lovely creatures living close by.