A CHRISTCHURCH resident is warning people to protect their ponds after she discovered her treasured Koi carp attacked by otters.

Junette Robinson, who lives near the River Stour, has kept a large pond for around 30 years, which, up until recently, included a small shoal of the ornamental fish.

Feeding them one morning, she discovered one of the Koi carp maimed at the edge of the pond. She then found the remaining fish in the pond dead or missing.

“The carnage was horrendous,” she said. “It was so upsetting. We’ve had the fish for at least 20 years, and they were a part of the family and all had names.”

She added: “The pond was well wired to keep herons out. But we never imagined otters would venture this far from the river, across the golf course and through two rows of houses. They are, obviously, very determined.”

Junette, who works at Bournemouth Hospital, said it was the first time her pond had been targeted by the mammals. She said she was “confident” her pond had been visited by one due to the nature of the damage and a ‘tell-tale’ otter dropping, or ‘spraint’.

“I spoke to someone who said they’d seen otters down the river recently. I want to warn people in the vicinity who have ponds to keep a close eye on them so the same thing doesn’t happen to their fish.”

Otters, which were once on the brink of extinction in Dorset, are now flourishing once more after the banning of hunting and pesticides, as well as improvements in habitat quality.

Jacob Dew, a conservation officer for the Dorset Wild Rivers project, said: “Otters are really active on the River Stour, and they will go down to Christchurch Harbour as well.

“They love eating fish and like to travel beyond the river itself. If there are ponds they can get to in close proximity, they often will take the fish.”

Jacob added he had received a number of calls from pond owners recently who suspected otters had been eating their fish.

“It’s a common problem,” he said. “In Junette’s case, it might have been a juvenile kicked out by his mother who was side-tracked to her pond while trying to find a new bit of river.

“The best thing pond owners can do to stop otters coming in is cage their pond – make sure the netting is sturdy and bite-proof.”