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Located within the Majella National Park, in the surroundings of the Caramanico Terme Visitor Centre (PE), this wildlife area hosts one of the most important breeding centres of Eropean otter in Italy.

The Otter Centre was established in 1989 by the State Forestry Authority, in cooperation with other Italian and European research centres, with the aim of promoting the conservation of the otter (Lutra lutra). It is one of the species at highest risk in Italy; the place was chosen for the presence of a small population of wild otters between the Orta and Orfento rivers, a proof of the high natural quality of these rivers. The area has an educational area where it is possible to observe four otters during their natural activities. The centre is divided into 8 big fences characterised by rivers and a dens riparian vegetation. This weasel is mainly a crepuscular and nocturnal animal and can be observed only at sunset. The area hosts the “Otter Den”, a museum where children can learn to recognise and respect the otter and its natural environment by playing. The den is the basement  of the Battasso Museum, part of the Orfento Valley Visitor Centre in Caramanico Terme.

The Centre also hosts a museum with a naturalist section and an archeologic one, also accessible to the visually impaired.

You cannot miss the many excursions in the Orfento Valley and to the San Giovanni Hermitage, in the Majella Park and the Ofanto Valley State Natural Reserve.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)