The otter has been identified again in recent days in Belgium, in the Antwerp region. It is new proof of the gradual return of the wild animal to Belgium. From the 1980s, because of hunting, water pollution and the destruction of its habitat, it did not give too much sign of life in our country. Fortunately, the work of environmental defenders is starting to pay. Céline de Caluwé, biongelia at WWF Belgium, intervened in “What time for the planet?” To enlighten us on the subject.
The otter continues her discreet return to Belgium. After a first appearance last October in Willebroek, in the province of Antwerp, a new individual was spotted in a neighboring nature reserve. The animal was filmed by a wildlife surveillance camera, installed with the support of WWF. Since 2012 in Belgium, we see it from time to time, mainly in Flanders, in the Scheldt Valley, south of Antwerp and east of Ghent. In Wallonia, it is rarer: “The most recent photo in Wallonia dates from 2020, on the edge of Ourthe, in the province of Luxembourg. For the rest, in Wallonia, we still expect a bit from the videos and photos of our photographic traps”, specifies Céline de Caluwé.
