Category

Water Life

Location

Isle of Mull

Gear

Canon 5d Mark IV, Canon 100-400mm ii

Description

I captured this otter on the Island of Mull, a location well known for its amazing wildlife. The Eurasian otter is found all the way from Ireland to Eastern China and south to Southeast Asia. Its population declined sharply in the UK at the end of the 20th century, but its protected status has seen it make a spectacular comeback and now the Isle of Mull is one of the best places in western Europe to see them. As I lay quietly on the beach, this otter came out of the sea where it had been fishing and lay on the beach grooming itself. It stayed there for a long time and was very relaxed as you can see in this photo, laying on its back to groom all those hard to reach places. It then fell asleep in front of me, which I always think is the highest compliment a wild animal can pay you and shows they are completely relaxed and not threatened by you at all. I still remember this day and think about it months later as it was such an amazing experience. It was definitely one of the best wildlife experiences of my life.

Photographer

Paul Saunders

Social Media

Instagram: @paulsaundersphoto

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