0:00:02 > 0:00:04Some animals are notoriously difficult to see.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08Can you see it? You don't know what you're looking at, do you?!
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Many only come out at night...
0:00:10 > 0:00:12No, we can't come in here now.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Others hide in holes or up trees...
0:00:14 > 0:00:18It's a bit deeper there, Gordon. Gordon!
0:00:18 > 0:00:21And some just like to keep their heads down...
0:00:21 > 0:00:25I'm checking whether this is one woozle or two weasels or whatever Christopher Robin said.
0:00:25 > 0:00:32But this doesn't deter the devoted and plucky folk who make up Britain's secret wild army.
0:00:32 > 0:00:38Four animals, four amateur naturalists, four inspiring stories.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03BIRDSONG # Dee, de-de, dee, dee... #
0:01:03 > 0:01:08Gordon, what have we got singing over there at the moment? Willow warbler, or a black cap?
0:01:08 > 0:01:13It takes more than a spot of rain to put these three intrepid gentlemen off their regular wildlife mission.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15We were waiting for that.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Think there was a stitchwort there, and a campion...
0:01:18 > 0:01:22In the depths of a Devonshire wood are 50 nest boxes,
0:01:22 > 0:01:27all carefully mapped and meticulously numbered, and all of them need inspecting.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32This is more like jungle exploration!
0:01:35 > 0:01:39Leading this dedicated band is retired biology teacher Tom Maddock.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Where is it?
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Oh, there we are.
0:01:43 > 0:01:44Right.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49This is going on this stone, then I can open the box.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54I always think this is like Christmas, cos you never quite know what you're gonna find.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58And, in fact, what we've got is a brood of blue tits.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02That was box number one and 49 to go!
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Something's been in there, a slug...?
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Finding a nest of blue tits might be treasure enough for some,
0:02:09 > 0:02:14but Tom and his team are after something much more unusual.
0:02:14 > 0:02:20I can see, um, shreds of plant material, so I'm gonna take this one down.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Ten or 15, Gordon?
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Oh! Ha-ha! Now...
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Wonderful, isn't it? Look at that. Isn't that brilliant?
0:02:40 > 0:02:44What we have here is a torpid dormouse. There we are.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51This is the reason for our quest.
0:02:51 > 0:02:57It's a delightful find, but it's not just for personal pleasure.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Tom and his friends are part of the National Dormouse Monitoring scheme,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05volunteers who are qualified to handle and study this rare and endearing mammal.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08No other rodent spends half its life sleeping.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13These will sleep for six months of the year, and they will normally
0:03:13 > 0:03:18start to wake up about midday, they're late risers.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21He doesn't want to show me his special parts. Hee-hee!
0:03:22 > 0:03:23He's very coy, this one.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28I would say...that we have...
0:03:30 > 0:03:31We have a male here.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34You can see a tiny penis.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38So what I'm gonna do next is weigh the animal...
0:03:41 > 0:03:43This one's 19.8.
0:03:43 > 0:03:4519.8.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48A good weight.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Tom's love of wildlife is part of a great British tradition.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59For centuries, like-minded amateur naturalists have watched and recorded everything that moves
0:03:59 > 0:04:03and grows, making Britain the best-studied place on Earth.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Like many others, Tom was first inspired when he was just a boy,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12and it's all down to this man, HG Hurrell.
0:04:12 > 0:04:18Oh, Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful, for Christ's sake. Amen.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Hurrell's family is a family of naturalists.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27His younger son, Kenneth, his daughter Elaine, who runs a section of the Bristol Naturalists Society.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Their mutual love of wildlife forms a deep family bond of understanding.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Hurrell was himself an amateur naturalist.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36His knowledge and interest was infectious.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40HG came to school once and showed films at school.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43I was trapped by that, really.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46And he was to me something of an idol.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50And I thought, "This is what natural history's all about."
0:04:52 > 0:05:00HG died in 1981, but his daughter Elaine, now in her 70s, is still a good friend, and mentor, to Tom.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01Hello, Elaine.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Hello, Tom. Come inside.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08Right, we've managed to complete the whole check. There's our first dormouse,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12- in number nine, nicely torpid, so that made for ease of handling. - Oh, really?
0:05:12 > 0:05:14- Yeah, so that was good.- Yeah.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16So that was that one.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20It means a lot to Elaine that Tom is carrying on the dormouse work
0:05:20 > 0:05:23she and her father started back in the 1950s.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25We've got three in here.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30I suppose my father was very interested in recording anyway in all kinds of observations.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34His diary was kept for something like 60 years.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41You know, it's extremely interesting now to read them, of course,
0:05:41 > 0:05:46because he said, "I saw a beautiful mouse tonight, absolutely perfect,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49"lovely tail, and I had a really good view of it."
0:05:49 > 0:05:56And that's what we were doing, was watching for dormice behaving naturally in the wild.
0:05:56 > 0:06:03Through their dedicated dormice watching, the amateur naturalists made a significant discovery.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07"Late October, I happened to walk under a large hazel bush
0:06:07 > 0:06:09"about 100 yards from our house,
0:06:09 > 0:06:14"and found that other creatures besides squirrels had shown interest in the nuts.
0:06:14 > 0:06:20"I picked up over 30 shells from which the kernels had been extracted through a hole at one side.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24"This could not possibly be the work of squirrels.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28"It appeared even at a glance to be the work of mice."
0:06:28 > 0:06:31They were very good carpenters, dormice, I always remember that.
0:06:31 > 0:06:37And they have a tiny chiselling effect on the edge of the hole.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40The discovery of these distinctive calling cards
0:06:40 > 0:06:44mean that you no longer have to see dormice to know they're there.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48So Elaine was asked by the Mammal Society to do a survey.
0:06:48 > 0:06:54For the first time, it was possible to produce a dormouse map of Britain.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57The survey was, when you look back on it, was great fun.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00It was hard work as well, but...
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Jumping in the bramble bushes to look for nuts!
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Today Tom is building on that knowledge.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Ah, you can see its front feet quite well...
0:07:10 > 0:07:14Ah, it's on the move, I'm gonna have a job to sex this one, I think.
0:07:14 > 0:07:15The total weight now is 55.3...
0:07:17 > 0:07:21So that's a gram or so more than that female.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26All this weighing, sexing and measuring goes to the People's Trust For Endangered Animals.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Sadly, dormice are on their list.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33It's an amazing creature that has been in this country for
0:07:33 > 0:07:41thousands of years, and up till, well, perhaps maybe...only about
0:07:41 > 0:07:4450 years ago, we started to get to grips
0:07:44 > 0:07:48with how this animal behaved, and what it was doing,
0:07:48 > 0:07:52and because we now have more data about dormice
0:07:52 > 0:07:57than maybe any other small mammal in this country,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59any effects of global warming might first
0:07:59 > 0:08:04appear in a creature like this, which has a completely different strategy from all the others.
0:08:04 > 0:08:10It's vital that amateurs like these keep an eye on animals like dormice,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13and it's lucky their sleeping habits allow us to see them easily.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18But hidden in a wooded valley in Gloucestershire, other mammals
0:08:18 > 0:08:22have chosen a less accessible, but much grander place for a bedroom.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Woodchester estate was bought by William Leigh in 1845.
0:08:28 > 0:08:34He commissioned architects to build a forbidding gothic mansion, but the house was never finished.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38It was mysteriously abandoned 23 years later.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49Visitors have reported sightings of a headless horseman, and even a floating coffin!
0:08:52 > 0:08:57No wonder it has the reputation of being one of the most haunted houses in Britain!
0:08:59 > 0:09:02And up in the ancient rafters are some residents who certainly add
0:09:02 > 0:09:07a frisson to the place - but to see them, you have to wait until after dark.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13SQUEAKING
0:09:17 > 0:09:21The horseshoe bats are famous for their noses.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26It just blasts its echo-location sounds through its nostrils
0:09:26 > 0:09:30into what is like a parabolic reflector, it's like a torch beam.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Then they get these beautifully focused beams of ultrasound,
0:09:34 > 0:09:39which make them incredibly good at distinguishing fine detail.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44They can discriminate between different types of insects
0:09:44 > 0:09:48while there are flying, in ways that are very difficult to understand.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53Despite being the largest and longest-living bat in Britain,
0:09:53 > 0:09:58its numbers have plummeted by 90% over the last 100 years,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01making it one of our rarest species.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05But this is the first file I had to do my project.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09We did basic descriptions of the habitat...
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Roger Ransome was the ultimate schoolboy naturalist.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17I started working on bats in 1956 as part of a school project.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22I felt that this was a really good area to get into
0:10:22 > 0:10:25because there was very little known about the natural history of bats.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27It was known that bats live a long time.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31They actually can live up to 40 years.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35I got the art prize for Cheltenham Grammar School in the first year.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39We had heard that there were lots of bats coming out of Woodchester mansion.
0:10:39 > 0:10:45And we made an attempt to get in while we were at school.
0:10:45 > 0:10:51The man who had the lease on the mansion wasn't too keen on sixth-formers wandering around,
0:10:51 > 0:11:00and it wasn't until 1959 that I persuaded him that, really, I was an upright and honest person...
0:11:02 > 0:11:07Roger's schoolboy persistence has continued for 51 years.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11His study of the bats in Woodchester has been going on longer
0:11:11 > 0:11:14than any study of any mammal in the whole world!
0:11:14 > 0:11:21When I started, I was doing all the basic biometric measurements that I still do today.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26We're now through something like 10 generations, it's just keeping it
0:11:26 > 0:11:30going consistently for that period of time which makes it become valuable.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38The computer says 107 bats went out.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Nowadays, the computer is the saving grace.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46I could not process data without it.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51That's where Michael, my grandson, comes in, cos he's my IT adviser.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Are yours coming out, Gemma?
0:11:56 > 0:11:58We've only got three out so far.
0:11:58 > 0:12:04Every week, Roger and his army of volunteers use a mass of technology to monitor the bats.
0:12:04 > 0:12:12Ted and Gemma are...have swung the cameras around, so that they are counting the bats flying out to feed.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17If the bats go out when it's very, very bright, we know they're diet-stressed.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22If they go out when it's very dark, we know they've got plenty to eat, and they're fine.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24This one...
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Well, this is to look for
0:12:27 > 0:12:33behaviour patterns between animals that we know are related to each other.
0:12:33 > 0:12:38And the associations seem to be mainly between the females.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41This is a female-dominated society,
0:12:41 > 0:12:46er, and what we have is a series of matrilines,
0:12:46 > 0:12:51lines of bats that go back to a single female.
0:12:52 > 0:12:59And all together, we've got something like 15-17 matrilines in the colony, so it's a large number.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02The more I find out, the more there is to find out.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05The complexity of this animal is just utterly amazing.
0:13:05 > 0:13:11It's been around 40 million years, and, er, we're pretty recent arrivals on the scene.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16They have an incredibly complex social organisation,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20vocal communications, which we're only just beginning to understand.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Right, so, I'm going through this hole...
0:13:22 > 0:13:26But it's not all hi-tech, and you do need to stay in shape.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Once the bats have left the roost, Roger can get in.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36Well, how else can you collect your weekly bat droppings?
0:13:36 > 0:13:41This yellow sheet is beneath the attic space that we were looking at.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44I'm gonna take them back to my house,
0:13:44 > 0:13:50dry them all out, and then we'll treat them in solutions,
0:13:50 > 0:13:56and we're left with the skeletons of the insects, which we can recognise under the microscope.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00And all jolly good fun.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04We do it week in, week out, and we see how the diet changes.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07That's quite a lot, really, for one week.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09They're feeding well at the moment.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14The other thing we have to do is to check the state of our cameras.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Roger has contributed to 34 scientific papers.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21And in 2002, he co-wrote the European Action Plan,
0:14:21 > 0:14:26which gives better protection to greater horseshoe bats.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31They do say scientists have their most productive work by the time they are 30 or 40.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34I think that depends on the type of work you're doing.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39To make generalisations about what's going on, you do need long periods of time.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42When you've got a bat that lives 30 years,
0:14:42 > 0:14:48then really you should do 60 years to be sure that the first 30 years is the same as the second 30!
0:14:48 > 0:14:52But will Roger ever feel like he's done enough?
0:14:52 > 0:14:57First of all, I thought when you got to 40, you were past doing these sorts of things,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00then I thought, "Well, perhaps when you get to 50, you're past it."
0:15:00 > 0:15:06And at the moment my wife thinks that it's high time that I hung up my boots.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11To be fair to her, it will have to come one day.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Determination is the watchword for mammal lovers.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Their dedication spans decades.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23These long-term studies often provide the information others need
0:15:23 > 0:15:25when planning our modern world.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Thank goodness amateur naturalists have the stamina and commitment
0:15:29 > 0:15:31to keep going.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35I want to be someone who knows as much as possible
0:15:35 > 0:15:37about European brown hares.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41And I'd much rather be here even though it's raining
0:15:41 > 0:15:43than sitting in an office.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46I'm not just standing here getting wet.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49I'm pursuing something I really want to do.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55This pretty suburban garden in Hertfordshire
0:15:55 > 0:15:58just 15 miles from London is surprisingly close
0:15:58 > 0:16:02to where Gill Turner likes to spend most of her time.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14It's 5.30 in the morning
0:16:14 > 0:16:16and Gill is already on her way.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20She is one of only a handful of amateur naturalists in the UK
0:16:20 > 0:16:22studying the secretive brown hare.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25I prefer to come out in the early morning
0:16:25 > 0:16:27because the light's better then
0:16:27 > 0:16:32and there's more chance of seeing them still grazing from the night before.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35I've been aware of the hares in my area for many years.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40I started to wonder what they were up to basically
0:16:40 > 0:16:43and try and understand why their numbers were dwindling.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51It was the Romans who introduced hares to this country
0:16:51 > 0:16:53about 2,000 years ago.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56They were once widespread throughout Britain
0:16:56 > 0:16:59but have now disappeared from many places.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02When you see something
0:17:02 > 0:17:05running at...that looks like a very large rabbit
0:17:05 > 0:17:10running at 45mph across in front of you,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13you can't help but think Britain's fastest mammal,
0:17:13 > 0:17:15you know, that's incredible.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22For 15 years, Gill has immersed herself in the life of hares,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26honing her field skills, so she can get as close as possible.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29We're just coming up to the meadow where I know the hares are
0:17:29 > 0:17:36so if possible could we be quiet and creep over there without making too much noise?
0:17:36 > 0:17:38(Thank you.)
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Keep this way.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Can you see down there?
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Can you see that brown...?
0:17:58 > 0:18:00There's two hares down there...
0:18:00 > 0:18:02together.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Did you see that at all? Oh, dear.
0:18:06 > 0:18:12Sometimes it takes the eye of a true amateur to spot what's hiding in the field.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Can you see them?
0:18:22 > 0:18:24I can see two hares.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27They're both grazing.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32I think they're siblings, part of a group of three.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I suppose there's a possibility that...
0:18:36 > 0:18:38..as they get older they'll attract...
0:18:40 > 0:18:42..bucks.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Shall we try and get a bit closer? OK.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Probably in this length of grass,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52the first the first thing you'll see are the ears.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03When I'm photographing them, and if they come really close to me,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06I have a job to keep my camera steady because it's so exciting.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Each time I think, "Oh, I've obviously got a brilliant photograph this time."
0:19:10 > 0:19:12SHE LAUGHS
0:19:15 > 0:19:16CAMERA CLICKS
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Gill's photos help her to understand behaviour
0:19:20 > 0:19:22and identify who's who.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24If it's a buck and a doe,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27it's possible that they'll completely ignore me
0:19:27 > 0:19:30because they're fully occupied in what they're doing.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32And with youngsters,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35they're so oblivious,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38especially if they haven't had any contact with humans anyway
0:19:38 > 0:19:40but they're easy to photograph.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46I think they're animals that not many people know much about.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51And there's so much more to a hare than just looking like a big rabbit,
0:19:51 > 0:19:52you know.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Their life is complex, it really is.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04These beautiful and entrancing animals have declined dramatically over the last 100 years,
0:20:04 > 0:20:08so more information is needed to help them survive the modern world.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Gill's observations go to her local records office
0:20:12 > 0:20:16and it's vital studies like these continue through generations.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22My mentor was Tony Holly.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27He lived in Somerset and he was well-known in his field.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29I wrote to him
0:20:29 > 0:20:31and he called me
0:20:31 > 0:20:33almost straight away.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37And I was overwhelmed, actually, it was wonderful
0:20:37 > 0:20:43that somebody as important as him should take an interest in somebody
0:20:43 > 0:20:45who hadn't got any scientific background.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48It was great. He really encouraged me.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52When he died, I felt very much alone in my work
0:20:52 > 0:20:57because I'd had somebody to report to.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Sometimes when I'm on my own and I'm wet and I'm cold...
0:21:05 > 0:21:08..and I haven't seen a hare,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12I think to myself, "Why am I doing this? Does anybody really care?"
0:21:12 > 0:21:18And I've got friends who think I'm mad, but I like to think that I've got enough field experience
0:21:18 > 0:21:22and I've spent enough time watching the hares without interfering with them,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25that I have gained some knowledge
0:21:25 > 0:21:29and possibly seen things that other people don't see.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34Hares, like most mammals, find themselves at the rough end of human development.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Intensive agriculture, housing, industrialisation
0:21:38 > 0:21:40and roads all take their toll.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47One mammal in particular was pushed right to the brink of extinction.
0:21:47 > 0:21:48Rare, elusive...
0:21:48 > 0:21:49nocturnal...
0:21:49 > 0:21:55No wonder James Williams in Somerset has to make do with decidedly unglamorous evidence.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01We're going to go to the otter loo,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03or what I call the otter loo,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06which is a pile of stones in the stream,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09which I check every day.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13They leave a nice juicy heap of pooh, if I'm lucky, a nice spraint.
0:22:13 > 0:22:19That means that I can tell the frequency with which this stream is used by otters
0:22:19 > 0:22:23which gives some indication of the level of population.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29It's very difficult to see an otter.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32I've never seen one here.
0:22:32 > 0:22:37If I wanted to see an otter at the otter loo, I'd have to sit on the bridge for half the night.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40So this is the otter loo.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42This is the side stream of the River Tone.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43Oh, my goodness!
0:22:43 > 0:22:48They must have known you were coming because that set of footmarks there,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50that's otter padding going upstream.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52I washed that sand yesterday
0:22:52 > 0:22:55and there wasn't any otter padding at bedtime last night,
0:22:55 > 0:22:56so I'm very pleased.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59On my little stream. Excellent.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11At the moment I'm quite excited because I think I've got a bitch and cub
0:23:11 > 0:23:14and so I'm checking to see whether this is one woozle or two weasels,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16or whatever Christopher Robin said.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22But I think an otter would go one, two and be off
0:23:22 > 0:23:26and the fact that we've got more, I'm hoping that that is the cub
0:23:26 > 0:23:28and that's the mother there.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30And this spraint...
0:23:30 > 0:23:32That's a very typical otter spraint,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35a sort of black shapeless, crinkly object...
0:23:36 > 0:23:39..which it gives me great pleasure to see.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Otters signal to other otters by leaving their pooh on a rock
0:23:43 > 0:23:47as a smelly warning that this bit of river is already occupied.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Trespassers are not welcome.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Why otters and not any other species?
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Because all other species are inferior.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Rabbits are worse at being rabbits
0:24:04 > 0:24:06and, er...
0:24:06 > 0:24:09any fool can be a guinea pig or a fox.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11But it takes an expert to be an otter.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15They really are in control of themselves, in control of their environment,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19they're just a very exceptional grade of animal.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22HUNTING HORN IS BLOWN
0:24:24 > 0:24:28James's admiration came out of a long but unusual relationship
0:24:28 > 0:24:30with otters.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33We were totally involved in otter hunting.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Father was master of the otter hounds
0:24:35 > 0:24:37and so was I eventually.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41In those days, there was no form of conservation
0:24:41 > 0:24:44other than the hunts, really,
0:24:44 > 0:24:48who paid money to the farmers where otters were found
0:24:48 > 0:24:54who gave Christmas presents to gamekeepers to not trap the otters to destruction,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58so the hunters were the conservationists of the day.
0:24:58 > 0:25:04When the decline came and pesticides started to harm the otters,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06it was the hunts that drew attention to this
0:25:06 > 0:25:11and the hunts that provided most of the data which enabled people to get to grips with it.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14I do think since the 1940s
0:25:14 > 0:25:16I have accumulated
0:25:16 > 0:25:18a body of experience and knowledge
0:25:18 > 0:25:20which ought to be recorded
0:25:20 > 0:25:21and passed on
0:25:21 > 0:25:24because the rivers are not in a totally healthy state now.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26They're cleaner to the eye,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29they don't smell as much and if we want to have some wildlife
0:25:29 > 0:25:32we need a new generation of people to come along.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36James's passion for otters led him to run the Somerset Otter Group,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39an 80-strong band of amateur naturalists
0:25:39 > 0:25:43who routinely check a particular stretch of river.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44By putting all the data together,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47he gets a unique insight into the local otters.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51We gradually build up a picture of evidence,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55a bit like lots of little creatures build up the Great Barrier Reef.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Little bits, little bits, little bits all add together.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01It may not seem as if you're making a lot of difference
0:26:01 > 0:26:05but I have had one or two things which I think were of importance.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10We picked up a dead otter and sent it away for analysis
0:26:10 > 0:26:13and it turned out to hold a world record
0:26:13 > 0:26:18of dieldrin at a time about six, seven years after dieldrin had been banned
0:26:18 > 0:26:22and it was traced back with the help of some experts
0:26:22 > 0:26:24to a government cloth factory
0:26:24 > 0:26:26where they were using dieldrin.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29We found that. The public do help.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31The fishermen do help.
0:26:31 > 0:26:32Farmers help.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Birdwatchers are a very great source of information.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39We put it all together and gradually we're getting most of the jigsaw.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42In some ways, it's a thankless passion,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46not least because James never sees an otter on his land.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Does it take dedication?
0:26:49 > 0:26:53I suppose it does take dedication to study a species that you never see.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59This nomadic creature comes mysteriously through my garden at night.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02It doesn't give twopence about us.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06It's just going through the river as it has done for hundreds of years.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Our presence is nothing to the otter,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11but the otter's presence is everything to me.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16Otters, like all our animals, need people who care deeply about them.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Our British wildlife needs a healthy environment
0:27:19 > 0:27:22and it doesn't take much to upset the balance.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27Otters live right on the cusp of what it is possible for them to live.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30If the otters go, it means the streams are in a mess.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33It means the fish are in a mess. It means the dragonflies are in a mess.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36It means that kingfisher that just came past us won't come past.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40If the otters can't hack it, nobody can hack it.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42We've got to have clean rivers.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45The hallmark of the amateur British mammal lover
0:27:45 > 0:27:47is dedication -
0:27:47 > 0:27:48and thank goodness.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52Without them, many of our mammals might quietly disappear
0:27:52 > 0:27:54without most of us noticing.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58To know more about the skills needed to be a mammal watcher,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01log on to our website...
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Next time, on Born To Be Wild,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11passions run high for the small and understated.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13They're about two millimetres across.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15HE LAUGHS
0:28:15 > 0:28:16The rare and elusive...
0:28:16 > 0:28:18There's not enough...
0:28:18 > 0:28:20The less than glamorous but fascinating...
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Eugh!
0:28:22 > 0:28:24And the minibeasts that keep our rivers alive.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26- That's it.- What's he doing in there?!
0:28:26 > 0:28:31Join our amateur naturalists as they watch over The bugs Of Britain.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:41 > 0:28:43E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk