Otterly amazing
Albino discovered on banks of the Clyde
A Bothwell couple out for a Sunday stroll were rewarded with the sight of an otter on the Clyde – and an albino one at that.
The elusive mammals have been returning to the rivers Clyde and Avon in recent years, but an allwhite otter is an extremely rare sight.
Edward Mallinson and his wife Diana, of North Dean Park Avenue, had been on the Livingstone Bridge when they spotted the otter swimming just downstream of the weir.
Mr Mallinson told the Advertiser: “It was quite fascinating. My wife spotted it first as it was swimming and jumping over little islands in the middle of the river. It also reached stones on the Blantyre side of the riverbank.
“It was lucky that I had my camera with me and I was able to take photographs of the animal.
“We must have watched it for about 10 minutes, swimming back and forth in the water. We didn’t want to let it out of our sight until it disappeared.
“I have never seen an otter in the wild before, but to see a white one – and in Bothwell – was a great, and unexpected, experience. It was quite a surprise.”
Mr Mallinson sent his photograph to the International Otter Survival Fund on the Isle of Skye and they confirmed that the animal was an albino otter.
The charity’s head of operations, Dr Paul Yoxon, told the Advertiser: “It is rare to find an albino otter. I have been studying otters for 30 years now and I have never seen one in the wild.
“Albinism is caused by a lack of pigment. It’s hard for albinos of any animal species to survive.
“They are not camouflaged and are therefore more vulnerable to predation.”
Former South Lanarkshire Council and United Clyde Angling Protective Association secretary Tom Mcgregor said this week the otter population on the Clyde had expanded in recent years.
He added: “If you see an otter in a river, you know the water is in good condition. That’s why they’re being spotted.
“I would say that otters are no longer the rarity that they were five years ago on the Clyde and the Avon near Hamilton.
“The river is much, much cleaner. Otters are now down into Glasgow because the of the improved water quality.”