ESCORTED OUT: Two policewomen followed the otter out of the library in Måløy.
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Vågsøy Public Library was rarely visited on Saturday, when an otter strutted in and lay down under the counter.
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– The otter entered the doors that open automatically. The kids here saw him and let him know. Then he lay down under the counter here and peed under the counter where I sit. Cheeky type, librarian Birger Blålid (56) tells VG by phone.
It was Saturday morning that the otter strolled into the library in Måløy center and settled between the shelves, according to the police in the West police district on Twitter.
Peeed under the counter
The staff did not want the company of the uninvited guest. When it did not want to move, a local patrol rushed out to assist.
According to the police, the otter was a bit angry, but librarian Blålid disagrees.
WAS ALMOST PURED ON: Librarian Birger Blålid (53) was approached by the otter who peed under his counter and lay down to rest. Photo: PRIVATE
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– He peed under the counter, but he was a calm guy. He was not angry, he emphasizes.
– How did you get him out?
– The police used their shield and chairs to get him out. Two female police officers got him out.
– Are you used to otervisit?
Blålid chuckles on the phone.
– No, I have worked as a librarian for 33 years and never experienced that before.
INVITED GUEST: This otter strutted into the library in Måløy and lay down under the counter on Saturday morning.
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The otter has been chased out of the library by the police, the West police district writes in an update on Twitter at 12.17. They report that no damage has occurred to otters or people.
Maybe the celebrity “Ottar”
Local journalist Gjert Myrestrand (47) was on weekend duty in Fjordenes Tidende, and right at home after another assignment, when he heard about the otter drama.
– I see the Twitter message from the police and pull myself into the car to reach it. I live only a few hundred meters from the library, says Myrestrand to VG.
– I got into the room and see the police in full swing hunting for the otter. They had set the furniture upright as a fence to prevent it from running into the rest of the library, but keeping it in the reception area. I managed to snap some pictures of it as it lay under the reception desk.
—-OTER JOURNALIST: Local journalist Gjert Myrestrand (47) from Fjordenes Tidende photographed the otter drama. Photo: PRIVATE
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Myrestrand’s flash shot can be seen at the top of this case. He estimates that it took only a minute from the time the otter lay under the counter until it was escorted out into the open.
– Two policewomen followed him out of the room. It was just luck that I managed to take the pictures.
– Are you used to writing about otters?
– When you now ask, I come to the conclusion that I have actually written about an otter once before. There was someone who lived down on the guest quay in Måløy for a period who was good at catching fish. It is very possible that it is the same otter, Myrestrand answers excitedly.
– The otter on the guest quay was called “Ottar”. It’s only been a year since I took a picture of it.
The local journalist draws a picture of Ottar as a free-spirited guy who used to take fish up on a floating jetty and devour the catch with a good appetite
– The floating pier is only about 50 meters from the library. In Måløy, it’s all about fish and boats. That is probably why the otter thrives here
Totally protected animals
According to World Wildlife Found The otter population was at an all-time low when it was fully protected in 1982. Since then, the population has slowly but surely recovered.
Exactly how many otters we have in this country is uncertain, but it is found all over Norway. Most of the species reside along the coast in the north of the country.
The otter can be almost a meter long and weigh up to 15 kilos. Life expectancy is about ten years.
There are 13 otter species in the world.
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