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Bryan Collett travelled on our 'Scotland's Mammals & Highlights of the Highlands' tour and submitted this entry to our writing competition.
Eurasian Otter by John A Cameron
The Ahab of Ardnamurchan
Ardnamurchan, the westernmost point on the British mainland. Beautiful and remote. We meet a young woman who’s left the peninsula once in her life, to visit Oban. Though there’s much else to enjoy, our main focus is on a few of Scotland’s key species. Red Deer – easy, they’re everywhere. Golden Eagle, tick. White-tailed Eagle – a wonderful display by an adult pair. Pine Marten – well, we sit and watch them feast from our armchairs while drinking a glass of wine. Wildlife-watching can be so demanding, can’t it? Wildcat? In our hearts we all know it will be a near-miracle if we see one. We don’t but it is fascinating to learn about the conservation project. That just leaves an Otter. Oh yes, the Otter.
Although we’ve nearly all seen them before, we’re keen to see one, and Marcus our leader is determined we won’t be disappointed. All week we take up our places in various beautiful bays. Early mornings, late evenings. High tides, low tides. We see encouraging signs: ‘Fresh spraints. He was here last night,’ and follow up tip-offs. ‘The couple staying in the house saw two this morning’. No otters. Lots of wonderful things, but no Otters.
Our last full day. We can see the (self-imposed) pressure building on Marcus. This is getting personal. The image of Captain Ahab pursuing Moby Dick comes to mind. (Did I mention some of us saw a Minke Whale?) A short boat trip to Carna. A climb up a boggy hill (how can you have a bog on a slope?). We reach the summit. A magnificent view over Loch Sunart. ‘There! Is it a seal?’ It clambers onto a rock and eats a crab. It’s an Otter. For 20 minutes we watch it travelling parallel to the island until it disappears round the headland. Maybe it isn’t a BBC documentary-quality view, but it is a beautiful wild animal going about its business unaware of our presence. A memorable moment earned by our leader’s fieldcraft, local knowledge, patience, tenacity and, yes, a bit of luck. On the boat ride back, the seals smile benignly from the rocks and a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins joins in the celebrations.
Marcus can relax. Ahab has caught his white whale.
For further information about our 8-day 'Scotland's Mammals & Highlights of the Highlands' holiday please 'Scotland's Mammals & Highlights of the Highlands'.