ONE of the UK’s most secretive mammals has made a rare day-time appearance in a Swindon garden - and there has been otter delight from wildlife fans.

And the sighting of the otter, in a Swindon garden, has now been registered as a colourful addition to the records of the Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre.

The otter was spotted in the garden of a family living in south east Swindon – who have asked to remain anonymous.

Thought to be a juvenile, it was spotted at around dusk at the end of August.

The sighting of the animal was welcomed by the manager of Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre (WSBRC), Purgle Linham.

She said the organisation was delighted to receive the report of an animal which had suffered a dramatic decline in population over the years.

“Otters, despite their fairly large size and occurrence throughout all of Wiltshire and Swindon’s waterways, are rarely themselves seen," she said.

"Once widely hunted, this alongside habitat destruction and pollution of watercourses and fish caused a dramatic decline in their numbers and led to their protection under UK law. Although populations are slowly recovering, otters remain a priority for conservation efforts.

“More usually, an otter’s presence is made known by other signs such as footprints, feeding remains and their sweet-smelling spraints (droppings) which they regularly leave in prominent positions to mark their territories.

“It’s not clear what brought this individual, likely to be a juvenile, into a garden but the presence of a nearby watercourse and a garden pond may well have had something to do with it as it was probably searching for food.

“This unusual and very fortunate sighting was reported via our Living Record online recording system, which is a great way to share your wildlife sightings with us.

"A garden or local greenspace can be a haven for wildlife and if you keep your eyes peeled you might see something amazing or strange or unusual.”

WSBRC is a not-for-profit partnership which collates, manages and shares information on the wildlife, sites, habitats and geology of Wiltshire and Swindon.

Much of the data it holds has been collected by volunteers and members of the public. WSBRC uses an online recording system called Living Record for general recording of wildlife sightings throughout Wiltshire and Swindon.

Ms Linham added: “We’re really pleased that keen recorders and the public alike have adopted Living Record since we started using it in 2013, following Wiltshire Mammal Group who are using it for their Wiltshire Mammal Atlas.

“If you have records to share with us please visit our website www.wsbrc.org.uk and click on ‘Submit Records’ to access Living Record.

"Records we collect are shared widely with other local and national organisations, statutory agencies, landowners and the public to help target conservation efforts effectively and ensure wildlife and habitats are considered, protected and maintained.”