Spotting wild otters in the Shetland Islands

The Shetland Islands, far to the north of mainland Britain - it’s one of the best places in Europe to see wild otters. Here these usually shy and elusive animals live in close proximity to humans.

In the Shetlands, as in the rest of Scotland, most otters live and feed off the sea. Even in Sullom Voe, one of the largest oil terminals in Europe. The waters here are clean and the otters hunt in the kelp forests, mainly for fish and crabs. These otters spend so much time in the sea, that they're sometimes called sea otters, even though they're exactly the same species as those that live on inland rivers. But in contrast to their freshwater cousins, they're often active during the day. The otter’s thick fur must be kept in good condition by grooming. Coastal otters also regularly need to wash the salt out of their fur to maintain its insulating properties.

Across much of Europe, otters have suffered great declines, victims of habitat change and human disturbance. But in Shetland, they're doing well. Here there's an otter for every mile of coastline, making this the densest otter population in Europe.