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Chronicle Live
National
Kristy Dawson

Northumberland wildlife including otters and baby badgers captured in series of night-vision videos

Some of Northumberland's most beautiful wildlife have been captured in a series of night-vision videos.

Hidden cameras have recorded a range of protected animals on the hunt for food – including otters, bats and even some baby badger cubs.

The footage shows a unique interaction between an otter and the badger family – with the cunning badger stealing the otter's hard-earned supper.

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It has been captured at some of Northumbrian Water's most remote sites over the last year.

Ben Ralston, conservation advisor at Northumbrian Water, said: "Some of the footage we have seen is incredible, it’s unusual to capture this unique interaction between these two elusive nocturnal animals.

"It is a fantastic way to get a glimpse of the secret world of these protected animals – and it’s great that we have been able to use technology in order to gather information in this way."

The water company owns and maintains approximately 5,793 hectares of land across the UK, where hundreds of different wildlife species can be found. The footage was captured during Northumbrian Water’s 'Interest of Safety Programme', part of a wider initiative to inspect and ensure safety compliance at reservoir sites.

Ben added: "It’s a complex project from an ecology perspective, so it is important that we have set up these cameras to capture what happens at our sites under the cover of darkness."

To help monitor the wildlife at Northumbrian Water sites, people are being encouraged to report any sightings of wildlife using the iNaturalist website.

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