The Green Otter - Lutra lutra viridulus

Well, it's been difficult finding any decent research published on the Green Otter, but the following is what I've discovered thus far (of course, if anyone has any further information please feel free to post it here):


The Green Otter is a member of the mustelid (weasel) family. With brown/yellow fur, giving off a green tinge (hence the name) with a pale cream underside, long slender streamlined body, small ears, long thick tail and webbed feet. The eyes and nostrils are high on its head with small ears. Like its cousin the European Otter, the male Green Otter is called a dog and the female a bitch - although reported to be a much faster and agile swimmer reaching speeds of 20 km/h under water and outrunning man on land.

The decline of the Green Otter is thought to have started around the time of the Highland Clearances – crofters ate their meat and used their fur to line winter clothes. It is thought that at some time these beautiful animals were also farmed. Remains have been found in caves around the Achnasheen Terraces (glacial outwash deltas) and drawings of them have been discovered on the cave walls within these natural formations. Giving reason to believe that our ancestors also hunted these animals.

Many people claim to have seen the Green Otter, however, the last officially recorded sighting was along the banks of the River Bran, near Achnasheen, at the end of the 19th century.

The Green Otter has now become the ‘Loch Ness Monster’ of Wester Ross – with many sightings being reported over the past couple of decades, although many these have been noted as wishful thinking on the part of the observer, however these unconfirmed sightings persist. One day we may well be surprised and learn that the Green Otter is alive and thriving in some remote backwater beyond Achnasheen…Loch Fannich perhaps?