In the pre-war years hunting of otters was widespread; such pursuits are now illegal. “By the 1980s, there were probably only a handful of otters left in the county,” says Graham, “Hunting and land development had decimated their numbers.” Graham has been working on an otter recovery programme and, after 17 years, it is showing signs of success. Graham started his work on the status of otters in southern Britain as part of a university course in environmental science and subsequently set up a trial project with the Wildlife Trust in 1989.