Otters as Symbols in the British Environmental Discourse

Abstract

The otter is a top predator demanding clean water to survive and has thus become an important biological indicator of the purity and health of water and wetland ecosystems. Using the constructivist approach to explore literary and ethnographic sources, I argue that otters, in addition to being biological indicators, have become meaningful and necessary environmental symbols and function as mediators of ecological values. Following this, I argue that the otter is not only a mediating symbol, but also a unifying symbol. Because the appreciation of the otter is uncontested, it can be the spark that kindles further understanding and cooperation between different interest groups in landscape management and land use issues. Finally, the symbolic value of otters as biodiversity markers can benefit other species in need of protection.

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