An otter has been spotted from Kilcreggan pier three times in the last week, and also seen by a dog walker on the nearby beach.
The sightings follow a video in May which caught the creature – a European protected species – swimming back towards the pier on the Firth of Clyde.
This morning it was photographed on the steps of the pier itself, leaving a footpath behind.
A spokesman for the Scottish Wildlife Trust said today: “Otter populations in Scotland are recovering from historic lows in the 20th century – improved water quality and legal protection has helped them to bounce back.”
And Helen Stephenson, of the International Otter Survival Fund on Skye, said there had similar reports elsewhere in Scotland recently.
“ It seems that in busy places otters can become used to the hubbub that is going on around them, but it is not always a good thing,” she added
“The public should keep their distance, particularly with dogs.
“Dogs will attack an otter, and an otter will certainly defend itself, and so people should not attempt to get too close or touch the otter.
“At the end of the day they are also a predator which means teeth to bite with! Enjoy, but at a distance.”
She added that too much disturbance might stop an otter feeding properly: “It is important for an otter to be able to feed well, as it needs lots of energy to keep warm in its semi aquatic lifestyle, and too much disturbance can prevent it feeding well.
“Quite probably the otter will move off at some point in the future – an otter lives within a territory which extends along the coastline and inland via burns or rivers to lochs.”
This footage of the otter was taken in May by Gavin Walker, who said that in 37 years working on Kilcreggan’s pier he had only ever seen an otter once previously
The Scottish Wildlife Trust says otters were driven near to near extinction in some areas between the 1950s and 1970s, but are bouncing back because of better water quality and improved protection.
The spokesman added: “Most otters in Scotland live on the coast but they are also found in lochs and rivers in both urban and rural areas.
“They are incredibly popular animals, while they can be elusive sightings of otters are always rewarding.”
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