Otter Path Hankensbüttel

The Otter Trail Hankensbüttel is about three kilometers long and starts at the Otter Center. It connects the nature experience center with the town of Hankensbüttel and includes a hike through the forest area "Hagen" as well as the nature experience bridge. A total of ten nature experience stations invite you to explore the habitat of the lake. For example, in an oversized reed bed, you can experience how a fish otter feels in its hiding place. Or the bridge guests enter the "stork's nest", three meters above the water surface, and observe with a telescope the behavior of the white storks nesting in sight. Small animals can be caught with a net on an observation platform. Two rotating discs with small drawings of the animals reveal what organism it is. Wobbly zones, a water touchpoint, and animal viewing spots complete the extraordinary offer. The bridge is accessible all year round and designated as a public path.

In total, four otter trails invite you to experience the landscape from the perspective of a fish otter. The fish otter is a very rare and secretive animal. It reacts very sensitively to changes in its habitat. Put another way: if streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes are in a good ecological state, they will sooner or later be inhabited by the fish otter as a habitat. Due to extensive nature conservation measures, the fish otter has returned to the lowlands of the Ise, a small river in the district of Gifhorn. Even near the Otter Center in Hankensbüttel, wild fish otters and their traces have been seen.

The otter trails lead to these areas to sharpen the view of the fish otter's habitats. A total of 24 stations equipped with steel otters invite you to learn directly on-site about the life of the water marten and nature conservation.

Further information on the otter trails and an accompanying brochure can be obtained from the Otter Center.