The food of otters Lutra lutra in different habitats in Hungary

Abstract

The diet of otters was studied by the method of spraint analysis. Remains of over 800 prey items were found in 270 spraints. Among these the proportion of fish was over 80%. We found no preference for any particular species of fish but small or medium-sized specimens were the most frequent in the diet. The composition of the otter's diet may reflect that of the fish stock in a particular pond or lake rather than selective predation. Nearly half of the consumed fish were considered as economically unimportant and about 20% of them were classed as economical pests.