The West Coast of Scotland is the heart of the Otter's stronghold, and despite being largely nocturnal they are also active during the day, and so sightings do occur during our boat trips.

These superb hunters are perfectly adapted to an aquatic life. They are streamlined, and have webbed feet to help them swim underwater, enabling them to hunt for shellfish, eels and other fish, which they catch in dives of up to four minutes. They close their nostrils as they dive to prevent a nose full of water.

Food is usually brought ashore to eat, but otters can sometimes be seen swimming on their backs, eating shellfish. Their sharp teeth help them crunch their way through fish, bones and all.

Otters hold a large territory, sometimes as large as 20 square kilometres, and move widely within this area. This can make their movements more difficult to predict than other animals and birds. They mark their territory with 'spraints' - oily secretions that let other otters know that the area is already lived in.

The female otter gives birth to up to three young, which can be born at any time of the year, and are born blind and naked in a holt - the name given to an otters den, usually a hole or burrow amongst rocks or under tree roots. The young stay with the mother for around a year, and their father - the dog otter - has little or no contact with them. Adult otters tend to remain apart, usually coming together only to breed.

Despite having been in Britain for at least 12,000 years, the Otter came close to extinction during the 20th Century. This was mostly because of pesticides poisoning, but other factors such as hunting, both for sport and as a 'pest', and the destruction of their habitat made a contribution to its decline. Nowadays, thanks to concerted conservation efforts from bodies such as the Otter Trust and the Wildlife Trusts, these delightful creatures are once again returning to their former haunts.

American mink have become established in large parts of the British countryside, and Argyll is no exception. Having first escaped, or been released by animal activists, from commercial fur farms in the 1930's, they have quickly become established, creating havoc for much native wildlife.

They are ferocious hunters, and will wipe out a whole colony of nesting birds in a very short space of time. Because they are well adapted to life in the water, they have a major impact on rare and already endangered wildlife such as divers and water vole.

Despite their slightly similar appearance to otters, for which they are often mistaken, they are much smaller, being only 45 cm long (as opposed to 1 meter for the otter).BR>
There is an ongoing effort to eradicate mink from Argyll, a drastic action that is absolutely necessary if other, native wildlife is to be safeguarded. It is thought that otter sometimes see mink as competition, and will kill them where their territories overlap, so the improving fortunes of the otter may benefit other wildlife by reducing the number of naturalised mink.