The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Otter shock for swimmers
Awild swimmer from Carnoustie was left stunned by the sudden appearance of an otter on Monifieth beach.
Carol O’Rourke, 41, was about to go on a regular “ocean dip” with friend Anna Kaftandzhiev on Saturday at 7am when she spotted the mammal in full flight.
The video she captured of the otter has been shared more than 20,000 times on the Our Monifieth Facebook page.
“I have never seen anything like it before,” said Carol.
She also posted on X on Sunday: “Otter-ly stunned to see this wee visitor on the beach at Monifieth yesterday morning as we headed for a swim.”
Carol told The Courier how the sighting came about.
“We spotted him from afar,” she said.
“It was quite misty and the tide was quite far out. And he was just having a wander along the shoreline.
“What was really interesting was that there was a flock of birds circling him, which is what alerted me to him. Something was there.
“I don’t know if they were interested in him going fishing or were trying to chase him away.
“He just had a wander. He didn’t get too close to us – we didn’t get too close to him.
“And then he headed into the water.”
The otter’s appearance sparked a hasty change of plans.
“It was a nice start to our day but we then decided not to have our swim at Monifieth,” Carol said.
“He looked amazing but he is still a wild animal so we felt we should give him his space.
“So we got our swim in Carnoustie instead.”
Carol was pleasantly surprised by the interest her footage generated on various Facebook pages.
“Many people my age, and probably older, all said they had never seen one,” she said.
“Otters do live in the waterways but they are quite elusive so seeing one of them running along the beach was quite rare.”