OTTERS!

testimonial
Helene Jacques
Giant otter and Congo Clawless otter,
French GuIana and Congo
My first otter sighting in the wild was far away
on a rainy, misty day on the Isle of Skye in
Scotland. I was not even sure I had actually
seen one! It was just a dark, vague shape
in the distance, real or imagined, maybe a
ghost, that caught my eye. I was hooked.
Twenty years later, after studying otters
in France, French Guyana and various
African countries, I can say that 80% of my
enriching, funny, amazing, unexpected (be
it meetings, field work, reading, research)
experiences and 80% of the people that I
most enjoy, near or far, are the happy result
of my involvement with otters.
Recently, in my capacity as a vet, I shared
my life with an otter for two weeks. Seriously
injured in a road accident, I was amazed
by its will to live, its daily improvements, its
adaptability to captive conditions and its
enthusiasm. This otter convinced me, yet
again, that otters are very special indeed.
For me, they are natural mood enhancers
whose loss would be dramatic for our
planet.
Time will tell if we have succeeded in
protecting this precious asset.
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