A Dangerous Game

Hunting the Ouseburn Otter has become a dangerous game. In an effort to catch the little critter once and for all, I have been out and about putting up Wanted posters along the Ouseburn River and in a few pubs in the Ouseburn Valley. I have realised that getting this little guy on film is not a one man (or woman) mission. It requires hundreds of vigilant eyes (those are your eyes), mobile phones at the ready (those are your phones), poised to catch him unawares as he dodges yet another of the cameras (unfortunately mine). Well he can't dodge all of the cameras, all of the time, especially if they are disguised in something as innocuous as a mobile phone. Oh I think we might just be closing in.

Anyway, you may be asking yourself why this hunt has become such a dangerous game all of a sudden. Surely braving a golf course and some pretty bad golfers, not to mention getting wet feet, is danger enough? For some. Yes. For me. Of course not. Nature has taken the side of the otter. What I thought would be a seemingly pleasant walk along the Ouseburn this afternoon soon turned into a scene not dissimilar to a war film. Imagine bullets raining down on you but instead of bullets, think conkers. Solid, rock hard conkers. On my head. Yes, I did come back with my arms and legs intact and no shrapnel in sight but I could have done with a great big combat-style helmet to protect me from those conkers 'falling' (oh so innocently) with a vengeance. The hunt for the Ouseburn Otter can be tough indeed. Oh and to add insult to injury, my esteemed colleague Kevin O'Hara (otter spotter extraordinaire) actually SAW the Ouseburn Otter at the end of last week (no camera to hand - surprise surprise. This otter knows its stuff). I'm almost too scared to check the footage. I don't think I will be able to handle another wily otter dodge this month!

The otters in the pictures are the more well behaved cousins of the Ouseburn Otter, currently residing at Gosforth Park and Big Waters respectively. This is what you are looking for (only more sneaky and less accommodating)!