Seafood platter followed by the rabbit...the luxurious menu enjoyed by Shetland otters
IT’s an a la carte list usually reserved for a Michelin-starred restaurant. But if these extraordinary snaps are anything to go by, fine dining is also on the menu for a family of European otters.
The series of photos were taken along the shoreline of northern shetland and show the creatures sharing an array of eclectic suppers including eel, crab and even octopus.
And far from restricting their hunting to the choppy waters, they were also caught hunting puffins and scrambling along the rocks to catch a rabbit.
The unusual behaviour was caught on camera by otter specialist and wildlife photographer Richard shucksmith.
Along with his two children, the 44-year-old spent between six and eight hours every day following the group around before capturing these images. It is thought that they are the first of their kind to be taken on the island.
Mr shucksmith, who has written books about the animals, said: ‘I have been photographing otters for about 15 years and I still find them fascinating.
‘They are sensitive creatures, so you have to be extremely careful and have a lot of patience.
‘I was up at 3am most days following them around, and it’s only when you have spent a long time watching them that you begin to see some of their more unusual behaviour, such as hunting rabbits and catching puffins. ‘They really are a top predator so their diet is varied – depending on how many fish there are around, they eat crustaceans and even birds. ‘I remember one day I had been out for a long time and hadn’t caught sight of a single otter. ‘I assumed they were sleeping so I started to head back to the car when I saw one swimming out to a rock where there were three or four puffins. ‘As it got closer the puffins all dived into the water so the otter went under. ‘When it emerged again I could see something flapping and splashing around in its mouth. I assumed it
was a fish but as it came towards me I saw that it was the head of one of the puffins. I couldn’t believe it.
‘I have been photographing otters for a long time and that is a shot in a million.
‘It then took it on shore and ate pretty much the whole thing apart from the beak.’
MR Shucksmith, who lives with his wife, Rachel, 37, and their two children in South Nesting, near Lerwick, told how he also photographed one otter catching a rabbit.
Reliving the moment, he added: ‘I saw it making its way across the rocks and going into a small hole in the rocks.
‘I assumed it was going in to rest but then it popped back out again with a rabbit in its mouth.
‘The rabbit must have been using it to rest when the otter found it.
‘Again, there wasn’t much left of the rabbit by the end – only the ears.’
European otters can grow up to 3.5ft in length and weigh up to 1.7stone.
They usually live up to ten years and can be found around the UK in both fresh water and coastal seas.
They are considered an ‘under threat’ species due to habitation loss and pollution in England and mainland Scotland, but still thrive on Shetland, where the coast has remained relatively untouched.
In the mid-20th century otters were under threat of extinction in Scotland after their numbers dramatically declined due to being hunted for their pelts, as sport and to protect fish stocks.
They also fell victim to being poisoned by pesticides entering the food chain and, by the late 1970s, otters were hardly to be found in Britain, with only Scotland’s west coast and islands still a stronghold.
But numbers have recovered and they are now found all across Scotland, where the population is estimated to be around 8,000 strong, and in every county in England.
Sightings of the creatures have been made in the centre of Edinburgh on the Water of Leith and in Glasgow on the Kelvin, the White Cart and the Clyde.
Males and females mate between May and August producing two to three cubs, which are usually born in a hole in a bank, known as a ‘holt’, or between rocks or tree roots.
Newborns are only about 5in long but grow quickly and can swim at three months.
They leave the protection of their mothers at ten to 12 months of age and can breed at two years old.
Though they normally live in clean rivers, lakes and on coastlines, they can also occasionally be found on marsh land.
The otter’s diet mainly contains fish and eels but can also include water birds, such as moorhens and ducks. They have also been known to eat chickens and frogs.