JAMES ROGERSON - WILDLIFE

When male Eurasian otters feature in wildlife documentaries and nature writing, they are often portrayed as an ominous presence, a threat to both mum and cubs. But are they really deserving of all the bad press?

Trees can do well in Shetland; you just need the right trees in the right place and the will to get them in the ground.

When done gradually and carefully, a camera can be placed in the field without disruption to the animals involved. Here is my approach for setting up a camera trap system to photograph otters.

This spring I have been working with one of Europe’s leading otter experts Addy de Jongh with his students Tim and Jarin in mapping the details of a selection of Shetland otter territories, as well as collecting spraint (otter droppings) for DNA sampling.