Shetland’s Otters: The Tale of a Draatsi Family

The stunningly wild and remote Shetland Islands are home to the highest density of otters in Europe. But despite their numbers, otters are extremely shy and are rarely seen.

This film is narrated by Shetland native, Brydon Thomason. He has been watching otters on Shetland for the last thirty years and knows these endearing animals’ ways.

Otters are a species living on the edge. The otter mother alone is responsible for raising her cubs — teaching them to dive, hunt and fish and gradually leading them to independence. When the cubs are a year old and have finished their education, the mother will remain close to her daughters but chase her male cubs away, forcing them to start a new life on their own. This is the story of one family and their bid for survival in the harsh conditions of Scotland’s most northerly isles.