Paddling in search of otters

Paddling to look for otters on the West coast of Scotland.

Today otters are flourishing across Scotland and recovering well across the UK as the waterways are cleaned up, after problems in the 1950’s and 1970’s with pesticides in the water causing a decline in otter numbers. The Scottish population is now estimated to be around 8000. Otters are largely solitary, semi-aquatic mammals that get most of their food from lochs, rivers or the sea.

Coastal otters are sometimes called ‘sea otters’, but they are exactly the same species as the animals that live further inland. Mainly active during the day, coastal otters generally have much smaller home ranges than their river dwelling counterparts, because of the abundance of fish and crustacean prey in inshore waters. These fluffy critters must keep their fur free of salt using freshwater for it to remain effective as insulation.

Your best chance of spotting these shy creatures is along the west coast of the highlands of Scotland, where there are typically fewer people. They have incredibly good hearing, sense of smell and eyesight, so spotting them is a bit of an art! It’s important to be as quiet as possible, find somewhere you can comfortably sit still for a while, and preferably be downwind of where you think you may spot them.

Otters are one of our top predators, feeding mainly on fish, waterbirds, amphibians and crustaceans, and they have their cubs in underground burrows known as a ‘holt’. Excellent and lithe swimmers, the young are in the water by 10 weeks of age; they are well suited to a life on the water as they have webbed feet, dense fur to keep them warm and can close their ears and nose when underwater. They cannot however breathe underwater, and will often dive only to resurface again regularly for air.

Otters are seen about 30% of the time on our sea kayaking trips- have a look at this video on our Facebook page of a very noisy otter on the shoreline near our base on Skye.

We have three centres across the Scottish Highlands ready to welcome you for your own chance to spot these elusive creatures; book online today!