Even many years after the otter returned to Hesse, there are only two populations in the state, each with a few animals.
A population has established itself in North and Central Hesse, the size was estimated at around ten individuals in 2019, as the Ministry of the Environment in Wiesbaden announced in response to a request from the FDP parliamentary group.
The second population lives on the Hessian-Bavarian border in the Jossa and Sinn water system.
Here, too, the population is estimated at ten animals.
After a targeted search in 2013, the water marten, which was considered to be extinct, was discovered in the Vogelsberg district and in the Spessart, among other places.
"The return of the otter to Hesse is a great success for nature conservation," said the ministry.
It shows, for example, that habitats of the species are intact again.
However, setbacks in the natural spread cannot be ruled out, as there are only a few animals.
Otters in breeding ponds
It looks different in neighboring Bavaria.
Because more and more otters are preying on breeding ponds, the State Fisheries Association has called for individual animals to be shot.
The association announced in mid-June that the existence of many fish farms was threatened by the attacks.
The Hessian Ministry of the Environment said that there are currently no known cases of conflict with otters in the country. Since these cannot be ruled out if the development continues, a preventive and intelligent otter management should be set up, similar to the case of the beaver in Hesse.