Tiny steps lend otters a helping paw

Published on Friday 25 December 2009 21:38

ROAD safety measures designed to deter otters from crossing a major Highland route have successfully cut the death toll, and there are plans to extend the scheme across the country.

Steps and ramps have been built to help the animals use drainage tunnels under the A9 at three sites between Perth and Inverness, and headlight reflectors have been installed on the roadside to put them off using the carriageway. Smaller females and cubs, which had struggled to get down steep banks and high ledges to the tunnels, have been at highest risk since the road was upgraded more than 20 years ago.

There have been no reported deaths of the protected species at the A9 sites at Pitlochry, Dunkeld and Drumochter since the improvements started in 2007. There were more than 20 in the previous five years.

Transport Scotland said the pilot project's success had led to proposals for similar measures at other blackspots. The agency said monitoring indicated the measures were "proving very effective at successfully guiding otters to use their new route".

However, an otter conservation group in Pitlochry has cast doubts on the figures.

A spokesman told The Scotsman the figures may be misleading because roadkill is being removed to fashion sporrans, and added that some otters prefer crossing the road to using the culverts.

The steps and ramps are designed to enable otters to more easily scramble through the culverts. Roadside fences guide the otters to these safe passageways.

The headlight reflectors have been installed at otter-eye level to dissuade the animals from crossing the road.

The project followed reports from the Pitlochry Scottish Wildlife Trust of increasing numbers of otters being hit by vehicles.

Otters had been frequently seen moving between their habitats on the high ground on one side of the A9, and feeding areas at Loch Faskally and Rivers Tay and Tummel on the other.

Transport Scotland landscape adviser Angus Corby said the work completed last month had produced excellent results. He said: "So far, the otter-friendly culverts and reflector system have provided excellent results in deterring otters from crossing the road and we're delighted with this outcome.

"We have been working together with Scotland Transerv for a number of years across north-west Scotland on this, and other projects, with the aim of reducing wildlife fatalities and protecting species found on the network, and it is satisfying to see these efforts rewarded."

Similar measures are now planned for the A82 near Loch Lomond, A83 near Inveraray, and the A9 near Slochd, south of Inverness.

However, Russell Coope, of the Pitlochry Otter Group, which has counted 50 otter road deaths, cautioned over the project's success.

He said: "Do not be too positive about this. It is very difficult to say whether the mitigating measures have been successful. Some dead otters have been picked up for sporrans, while fewer deaths may have been reported."

Mr Coope added that otters are still crossing the A9, despite the otter-friendly culverts.

Transport Scotland said it had also pioneered the construction of artificial otter holts, the relocation of Scottish wood ant nests from carriageway verges and the trial of electronic signs to encourage drivers to slow down where deer are likely to be crossing the road.