European otter

Lutra lutra

28,426Records since 2000

MayPeak month

113Counties with records

Near ThreatenedIUCN Red List

When it is recorded

Jan1,896

Feb1,870

Mar1,835

Apr2,059

May3,566

Jun2,276

Jul2,184

Aug2,343

Sep2,115

Oct2,229

Nov1,792

Dec1,742

GBIF records by month, 2000–2025 (all years combined).

#	County	Nation	Records
1	Highland	Scotland	3,494
2	Powys	Wales	1,863
3	Cumbria	England	1,668
4	Devon	England	1,359
5	Worcestershire	England	1,350
6	Argyll and Bute	Scotland	948
7	Gwynedd	Wales	629
8	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	559
9	Fermanagh and Omagh	Northern Ireland	547
10	Carmarthenshire	Wales	486
11	Pembrokeshire	Wales	460
12	Ceredigion	Wales	450
13	Scottish Borders	Scotland	446
14	North Yorkshire	England	433
15	Essex	England	382

11,024 England9,288 Scotland5,909 Wales1,751 Northern Ireland

Records per county (GADM level 2) and per nation; one record can count towards several areas. 113 counties in all.

Records since 2000: 28,426
Peak month: May
Counties with records: 113
IUCN Red List: Near Threatened
Scientific name: Lutra lutra
Also known as: Otter
Group: Mammals
NBN Atlas records since 2000: 28,587
Most recorded in: Highland, Powys, Cumbria, Devon, Worcestershire, Argyll and Bute, Gwynedd, Aberdeenshire, Fermanagh and Omagh, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion +43
Conservation designations: Bern Convention, Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Habitats Directive, Habitats Regulations (NI) 1995, EU wildlife trade (CITES) annexes, Biodiversity List – Northern Ireland, Biodiversity List – England, GB Red List (2001 IUCN criteria), Biodiversity List – Wales, UK BAP priority species, Scottish Biodiversity List, Habitats Regulations 2010
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Genus: Lutra
Name with authority: Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758)
Described: 1758
Contributing datasets: 64