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World Otter Day
"It is utterly, notterly, possibly true
that my otter you’ll find at your local zoo.
My otter is totally, otterly wild,
I’m afraid you may never see him, my child."
~ Wild Otter, Joanna Marple
🎶 “You otter be in pictures ...” (bad pun alert) or perhaps better yet, “You 'otter' have an otter tartan,” otter and tartan enthusiasts!
The colours of this otter-inspired tartan reflect the lochs, streams, rivers, and coastal waters where these playful creatures live and thrive. Deep blues and sea tones evoke Scottish waters, while earthy browns and silvery shades echo sleek otter fur, river stones, and shifting shoreline light.
Otters have long fascinated people throughout history and folklore. In Celtic tradition they were often regarded as magical or fortunate creatures, admired for their intelligence, agility, and seemingly carefree nature. Norse mythology associated them with shape-shifting and trickery, while medieval bestiaries sometimes portrayed otters as resourceful creatures equally at home in water and on land. In more modern times, they became beloved literary figures, often representing curiosity, independence, and just a touch of mischief.
Among the best known literary otters are “Otter” from Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows and “Tarka” from Henry Williamson’s Tarka the Otter. Scotland itself also shares a special literary connection with otters through author and naturalist Gavin Maxwell. His famous 1960 memoir Ring of Bright Water chronicled life on the west coast of Scotland with his beloved otter, Mijbil, and later inspired the 1969 film adaptation. Maxwell’s influence became so well known that an Iraqi subspecies of the smooth-coated otter, Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli, was named in his honour.
Known for their amusing antics, a group of otters may be called a bevy, family, lodge, or romp — and when floating together in the water, a raft. Otters are famously playful and intelligent animals, often using objects as tools and toys. Sea otters, in particular, are known to keep a favourite rock for cracking open shellfish and other hard-shelled prey.
Even better, they often store this treasured rock in a special pouch of loose skin beneath the forearm, alongside bits of gathered food. Though for the otter tartan enthusiast, a sporran is probably still the better choice for carrying one’s favourite rock ... and perhaps a bit of lunch as well. 💙 🖤 🤍 🤎 🦦 🦦 🦦
From the designers website:
JustKiltme.com is pleased to announce the launch of the exclusive Eurasian Otter Tartan! The official name in Gaelic Breacan Dobhran was designed by the proprietor who has claim to the title Baron Of Otter; a kilt/ tartan expert and historian whose clan bears the Otter on their Arms, Clan Balfour. The Otter Tartan is in deference to clan Balfour and it’s branches Arms along with clans and families that bear the Otter in Heraldry from Lutrell, Fullerton, MacBeath; along with numerous others who have the Otter in their Heraldry and Clan mythology. The Tartan also pays deference to the Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Breton and Norse heraldry, mythology and Legends that include Otters, the Lochs, Streams and Sea where the Dyfrgi (Water dogs) live and play in lore.
The colours Black, Brown, White and Blue pay homage to the wee creatures that delight us so; and the legend of brenin dyfrgwn saith dyfrgi du. Otter king seven black otters. Found in Irish, Welsh and Scottish legend and tales of ‘Otter Kings’ who were accompanied by seven black otters. When captured, these beasts would grant any wish in exchange for their freedom. But their skins were also prized for their ability to render a warrior invincible, and were thought to provide protection against drowning. Luckily, the Otter Kings were hard to kill, their only vulnerable point being a small point below their chin. The tartan also pays homage the whole kinship of the clans, septs, surnames associated with Otters, the love of Otters, a true Dobhran Coibhneil (Gaelic) Carennydd y Dyfrgi (Welsh) Kindred of Otters.
A special Heraldic Arms have been created for the Tartan and the Kindred designed by Chris Onyeaghor, with the motto of vivet vita ad plenissimam “Live Life To The Fullest” which Otters do.
Monies raised from the sale of the Kilt will help benefit Otter Conservation Efforts of The International Otter Survival Fund https://www.otter.org/Public/ and for the Otter Habitat at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium https://www.columbuszoo.org/
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The word otter derives from the Old English word otor or oter, which ultimately stems from the same word which gave rise to the English word "water."
There are great number of otter species adapted to their particular environments in the ocean or rivers, but a large number of species are now extinct.
Norse mythology tells of the dwarf Ótr habitually taking the form of an otter. The myth of "Otter's Ransom" is the starting point of the Volsunga saga.
In Irish mythology, the character Lí Ban was turned from a woman into a mermaid, half human and half salmon, and given three hundred years of life to roam the oceans. Her lapdog assumed the form of an otter and shared her prolonged lifetime and her extensive wanderings.
In some Native American cultures, otters are considered totem animals.
And in popular Korean mythology, it is told that people who see an otter (soodal) will attract 'rain clouds' for the rest of their lives!
In Japanese folklore, clever otters fool humans in the same way as foxes.
An otter's den is called a holt or couch. Male otters are called dogs or boars, females are called bitches or sows, and their offspring are called pups. A group of otters are known as bevy, family, lodge, romp (being descriptive of their often playful nature) or, when in water, raft!
To visit the designer's site for this tartan, click the otter!