Free Republic

An otter has survived a "perilous" three-mile sea crossing to the Farne Islands for the first time, the National Trust has said.The animal, more commonly found in rivers, has swum from the coast of Northumberland despite rough seas.While otters in Scotland do live in coastal areas, Mr Steel said it was "a rare event" to see them by the sea in England.For one to reach an island three miles offshore was, he said, "incredible". "It is staggering that an otter could survive the perilous journey out to the Farne Islands, especially Brownsman, which is a long way from the mainland,"...