Meet the Sanctuary Otters!
Willow
This otter has come to us without a name, and we thought what better way to start the year than with a naming competition! Here is some information about the otter and how she ended up at IOSF!
We have formed a very good connection with Blyth Wildlife Rescue in recent times, and for this female Eurasian cub this is where the journey started! Firstly, a phone call went to British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) from a member of the public who reported the otter as being seen alone for multiple days beside the River Wear, on the outskirts of Sunderland, calling consistently for the mother and moving further away from water.
After receiving this report, BDMLR contacted Blyth on 6th December and the otter was taken for initial care. The wee one weighed in at 1.3kg on admission and for the first 48 hours she was reluctant to feed or take any fluid. After a short while she then decided to put up a fight for herself and began taking small bits of salmon and milk.
Once she was making good progress she then made the journey up to the IOSF Sanctuary, where she has settled in nicely and, thanks to our great supporters suggestions and votes, received the name Willow!
LATEST UPDATE
Willow has been doing great and has now moved outside and to her croft enclosure. This is where she will remain for the rest of her stay! She is eating a hearty 3 whole fish a day and is proving quite the expert at cleaning up the bones, leaving only a cartoon style skeleton for us to collect the following day. A quiet otter, we rarely see Willow in action, but we do have plans to put a camera trap in her enclosure soon in an effort to see what she gets up to whilst the humans are away!
Mattise
The feisty little bundle of energy pictured is Matisse, and he also made the journey from Blyth Wildlife Rescue to IOSF for rehabilitation.
Matisse, a young male Eurasian otter, is slightly larger than the female and has really settled in well at the Sanctuary. He absolutely loves his food, devouring anything and everything in his path, which would include Ben and Grace's fingers if he was given half a chance!
This young male Eurasian otter has been named for a very special reason and in November FONDATION Le PAL NATURE, France, shared a post on social media regarding this. Here is what it said.
"In May 2024, Le PAL NATURE FOUNDATION was contacted by the Marchais family – and more specifically by Matisse's cousins – to pay a gentle tribute to this passionate young man.
They wished to offer a symbolic and touching nod, reflecting the bond Matisse shared with an animal he deeply admired: the otter.
Their request was to name a young otter after Matisse. A powerful gesture, both personal and committed, that not only honours his memory but also supports the conservation of this endangered species, so dear to his heart.
Deeply moved by this initiative, Le PAL NATURE FOUNDATION and International Otter Survival Fund readily agreed. The otter will henceforth bear the name Matisse. Once ready, he will be reintroduced into his natural habitat where he will continue his wild life under the best possible conditions."
LATEST UPDATE
Matisse is going from strength-to-strength with us at the Sanctuary, feeding well and growing into a fine young otter. He has an obsession with water, and when the pool is being filled from the top of his enclosure he revels in playing as the water falls from the Skye, twisting and turning where the stream meets the pond. We stay as far away from the otters as possible at all times at the Sanctuary, but it is great to see him so active when he can’t see us!
Floris
Floris, a young female Eurasian otter, was found on a beach in NE England in a poor state of health. However, thanks to a speedy rescue effort by Blyth Wildlife Rescue (BWR) and veterinary attention, this little otter defied the odds and is now well on the road to recovery. It is likely that Floris was separated from her mother and washed out to sea during the severe weather experienced during Storm Floris in August.
This young cub proved to be a challenge during her initial care with BWR, "quickly changing from her subdued and lethargic state on rescue to an angry and feisty otter within 24 hours!". However, since arriving at the IOSF Sanctuary, Isle of Skye, Floris has settled in well and is enjoying her fish! Her main activities are undertaken in the cover of darkness, whilst exploring her new enclosure. She is very inquisitive when it comes to her surroundings, but ultra wary of people.
LATEST UPDATE
Floris is now moving into the final months of her time with us, as she approaches the time she would usually have left her mother when in the wild. A very elusive character, Floris is never seen in the daytime, preferring a nocturnal approach to life! She is still devouring her fish and growing into a beautiful young otter. Watch this space as we hope to bring you good news on Floris in the near future!
Bella and Drum
Bella (female) and Drum (male) are young Eurasian otter siblings who were found alone, very close to a busy main road, near Ullapool in NW Scotland. The two otter cubs were spotted by someone heading to the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, who contacted our friend Noel Hawkins. Noel helped search for the cubs and contact IOSF. A decision was made to uplift them and get them to the local Conanvet Clinic in Ullapool for a check-up. Arrangements were then made to transfer them to our otter hospital on the Isle of Skye.
Despite the stress of ‘losing’ their mother, that evening the cubs were able to tuck into some salmon for their first meal since being picked-up, which is always a positive moment in any rescue.
LATEST UPDATE
The cheeky, charismatic and somewhat destructive duo from Wester Ross are in our newest enclosure, with a beautiful pond and a brand new pond liner to keep the water in. . Perfect, or so we thought! The brand new pond liner is no more, as our delightful duo decided to rip holes in it and therefore for safety, we had to take it out! Callum and Ben have worked tirelessly over the last few days to get the pond back up to standard and are fully accepting of the fact that Bella and Drum are likely to work their magic once more!
All joking aside, their behaviour is what we should expect. They are two energetic but ultimately, wild animals. Their natural instinct to explore is something we want to encourage so, yes, while it is a little annoying, we are more than happy to see them doing as otters should - especially with a release hopefully coming in the near future!
Bealltainn
Bealltainn (named after the Gaelic May Day Festival) is a female Eurasian otter from the Isle of Mull. She came to the Sanctuary at around 6/8months old after initial care from Mull Otter Group, having been found on the first of May 2020. When she was found she had been living off vegetation, and didn’t appear to show the signs of an otter that understood how to hunt for herself. This has been shown in her time at the Sanctuary also, with a reluctance to use her pool being one of the main concerns for a release. She also doesn’t dig around her enclosure, like most other young otters who are ready to head out into the wild do!
LATEST UPDATE
Bealltainn has now been with IOSF for 6 years! Arriving with us in May 2020, we had hoped that one day Bealltainn would again be a wild otter, but as you know a release would be unethical given how Bealltainn acts. Still loving her sunbathing spot of many years in the privacy of her enclosure far away from civilisation, this lovely little otter enjoys the quiet life and a few fish a day to keep her going.
Thank you to everyone who has supported our care of Bealltainn over the last 6 years, it means the world to us.
Our most recent releases!
Tazzy and Timbit!
Timbit
Timbit is a young female Eurasian otter. He was found alone in the Appin area of the Scottish Highlands. After initial care in Fort William, she arrived the IOSF specialist care facility "The Sanctuary", still requiring feed by bottle (as you can see from the image). After a short period of time she moved onto small pieces of fish, and let us tell you.. she has quite the appetite!
Tazzy
Tazzy is a young male Eurasian otter. He was found at Gairlochy, Scottish Highlands, and after some food and warmth he became a very fiesty little otter, hence the name!
Latest Tazzy and Timbit update!
April 2026
Tazzy and Timbit have now been released back to the wild! Thank you as always to all who played a part in their journey!
-
![]()
River & Linnhe
Released in October 2024
-
![]()
Louis & Maggie
Released in November 2024
-
![]()
Dori & Queenie
Released in May 2025
-
![]()
Edith
Released in October 2025
-
![]()
Tazzy & Timbit
Released in April 2026
In order to have the best possible chance at a return to the wild, we do not allow visitors to the Sanctuary. This is to minimise their interactions with humans and maintain their wild instincts. All otters that come into the Sanctuary for rehabilitation are here with a view to release in the future, unless this is not possible.