One of the culprits responsible for repeatedly breaking into the Rhodes University ichthyology department fish farm was caught red-handed on Thursday.
One of the culprits responsible for repeatedly breaking into the Rhodes University ichthyology department fish farm was caught red-handed on Thursday.
The sly otter was spotted by fish farm staff at around midday and was then cornered and trapped by staff from the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity before being released into the Shamwari game reserve, outside Grahamstown.
A number of Cape Clawless otters have reportedly swiped more than 2 000 fish from the farm in the past half decade, according to senior researcher and fish farm operator Martin Davies. “They have been a problem for the past five years, but three years ago they became a serious threat to the continuation of this institution,” Davies told Grocott's Mail.
“Between the otters and the poor quality of the municipal water supply, I've only got around 40 fish left in this operation.” Many attempts to solve the otter problem, “but the threat seems less real when it comes from such an innocent-looking creature,” he said.
But the loss of stock has considerable consequences. “This farm creates employment for more than 200 people across the Eastern Cape, and when the fish are disappearing at such an alarming rate, it costs hundreds of thousands of rands because we have to buy eggs and restart the farming procedure at a very high cost,” Davies said.
The fish farm is under enormous threat from the otters that use their teeth to gnaw through the perimeter fence. Since they began to be a nuisance, many efforts have been made to stop them from breaking in, but this has proved to be a costly exercise.
Davies said the creatures are able to pry apart the reinforced fencing and drag themselves through small gaps under or between fences. “The one that we captured was relatively small, perhaps a cub,” he said. “We've seen otters here up to around six feet (1.8 metres) before. When they get to that size, they are quite capable of attacking a human with serious consequences,” Davies warned.
“They are able to snap the spine of a two-kilogram trout with a single bite.” The otters, believed to live close to Jameson Dam outside Grahamstown, are capable of travelling 20kms a day with minimal effort, according to Davies. Otters are known to go for the easiest option available when seeking food, but hopefully they'll ease up on the Rhodes fish farm and opt for another fast-food joint in future.
