Recently, our Seasonal Ranger on the Isle of Eigg, Norah Barnes, organised an otter-ly great learning day with the International Otter Survival Fund.

On the 25 July, Ben Yoxon from the International Otter Survival Fund visited the Isle of Eigg for a special event all about otters. The International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) are based on the Isle of Skye and work to conserve otter species internationally. Otters are part of the mustelid family along with badgers, pine martens and weasels. There are 13 species of otter globally and many of them are endangered so the work of the IOSF is really important.

The event on Eigg started with a guided walk to the southerly shoreline of the island. We stopped and waited silently for a few minutes to see if we could spot any otters out at sea. The sea was quite choppy and not much was seen apart from a few seabirds. Ben then showed us some spraint (which is how otters mark their territory) and told us what to look out for when tracking otters. Unfortunately, the rainy weather meant we didn’t stay out for much longer!

In the evening, I gave a short talk about the lives of meerkats in the Kalahari Desert where I had worked for a year. Meerkats and otters share similar foraging and social behaviours, which led us nicely into the talk by Ben. He told us more about the different otters you find around the world, their preferred habitats and food, and some of the challenges they are facing. He also told us more about the amazing work that the International Otter Survival Fund does, how it was established by his parents 30 years ago and how they are continuing their work to protect otters and inform people of their importance in the wild. Otters help maintain the growth of kelp forests by keeping the number of sea urchins down, which makes them a keystone species. Without kelp forests, many other species suffer, and coastal cities are more at risk of flooding when heavy storms come.

If you want to support this great organisation and learn more about the work they do, you head over to the International Otter Survival Fund website.

A huge thank you to Ben for coming to Eigg to share his knowledge, and to Norah for organising the event, even though she could not make it to the event herself.

And last, but certainly not least, thanks to the dedicated people who braved the weather to learn more about otters, and a special shout-out to our visitor named Ollie, who came to the talk while his family stayed at the accommodation! May you always stay so dedicated to learning more about wildlife.

-by Annelise van Eeden, long-term Scottish Wildlife Trust volunteer on the Isle of Eigg