SHARP-EYED wildlife lovers are being invited to help an organisation boost otter numbers in County Durham's rivers.
The creatures almost vanished from the area about twenty years ago, after their numbers declined dramatically in the 1950s.
Now the Northumbrian Otters and Rivers Project is working to encourage the creatures back to rivers in County Durham by restoring riverside habitats and wetlands and training volunteers to carry out surveys.
People are being urged to help to compile an accurate record of otter distribution in County Durham and the Tees Valley by sending details of sightings to Durham Wildlife Trust, which runs the project.
People who want to send in details can either return an electronic recording form on the Trust's Internet website, www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/durham/ or send details through the post to Durham Wildlife Trust, Low Barns Nature Reserve, Witton-le-Wear, DL14 OAJ
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