Shortlisted for THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2017'The best popular account of
the lives of otters written so far' Richard Shelton, Times Literary
Supplement
When Simon Cooper bought an abandoned water mill that straddles a small
chalkstream in southern England, little did he know that he would come
to share the mill with a family of wild otters. Yet move in they did,
allowing him to begin to observe them, soon immersing himself in their
daily routines and movements. He developed an extraordinary close
relationship with the family, which in turn gave him a unique insight
into the life of these fascinating creatures.
Cooper interweaves the personal story of the female otter, Kuschta, with
the natural history of the otter in the British Isles, only recently
brought back from the brink of extinction through tireless conservation
efforts. Following in the footsteps of Henry Williamson's classic 1920s
tale Tarka the Otter, readers are taken on a journey through the
calendar year, learning the most intimate detail of this most beautiful
of British mammals. Cooper brings these beloved animals to life in all
their wondrous complexity, revealing the previously hidden secrets of
their lives in this beautifully told tale of the otter.
