Shetland otters are among the natural stars of a new BBC wildlife documentary, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
Parenthood follows several amazing stories of dedication, ingenuity and sacrifice as animal parents around the world raise their young. This includes Shetland otters which appear in episode two, ‘Oceans’.
And there are some heart-stopping moments, with the resourceful mother hunting for food among the seaweed. However, to do so, she must leave her three kits alone, with almost disastrous consequences.
The otters appear in the same episode as a diverse range of creatures, including Dolphins in the Red Sea, Egypt, killer whales in West Australia, and Banggai cardinalfish in Indonesia.
That otters feature alongside such incredible natural wonders is a testament to the fact that there is a greater density of otters in Shetland than anywhere else in Europe.
Combined with local expertise and passion for the creatures, which spend the entire year living in the islands, exceptional footage of the mammals features in the episode.
For Shetland’s otters to be profiled at this level, holding their own alongside an A-list cast of the most amazing mums in the natural world really is huge and attests just how good our islands are for them.
The show is produced by Silverback, which has previously made films about other Shetland sea mammals, including orca, for the BBC. Silverback’s team worked alongside locals including Brydon Thomason, Richard Shucksmith and Billy Mail, whose remarkable bond with an otter was made into a successful documentary – Billy & Molly: An otter love story.
Brydon said: “For Shetland’s otters to be profiled at this level, holding their own alongside an A-list cast of the most amazing mums in the natural world really is huge and attests just how good our islands are for them.” He added that is was “true honour” for the footage to be narrated by Sir David.
Richard and Brydon worked with camera operator Raymond Bessant (from Orkney) to capture the footage in the autumn and winter of 2024/25.
The Ocean episode will be broadcast on BBC One on Sunday 10th August, and is available in the UK via the BBC iPlayer (the otter segment begins at around 16m:45s).
Discover Shetland's winter wildlife highlights, including spotting otter families.