Many visitors to Tobermory will remember our resident otter, “Elvis”. To commemorate his life and help conserve our otters in future, we’re raising funds to buy and install a bronze otter sculpture on the edge of the Bay. An attraction for visitors, the sculpture will also incorporate a collection box in the plinth, funds from which will support otter conservation work on Mull and Skye for years to come. Bronze casting is very expensive so ALL donations, big or small, are most welcome.
So we ran a competition ….
A grand total of 261 otter fans entered our 2012 competition, each paying a £1 entry fee for the privilege. Thank you everyone, that’s a big chunk of funding.
The competition closed on 15th October and it was then time to select the winner of the huge canvas of a Mull otter mum and cub. The majority of entrants got the question right (the scientific name for the Eurasian otter is indeed Lutra lutra) so there was a pile of entry slips to be drawn from.
A normal draw is a tad boring, so we decided to let the new otter in Tobermory Bay make the selection. Just as Elvis did, our new otter (if new otter it be) likes to spend time on the back of several of the boats in Tobermory Bay. We selected 6 of these boats (see the photos) and kept an eye on the Bay to note carefully which boats it climbed on to.
I name that boat …
Sorting the competition entries
So, when we saw which boat the otter climbed on to, we matched that boat to the relevant one of the six piles of entries and discarded the other five piles. Starting the process again, we then divided THAT pile into 6 more much smaller piles, each matched to one of the boats. So when the otter climbed onto the same or another boat, once again we selected that pile and so on and so on until there were only six entries left matched to the six boats. At that stage, the winner was selected by whichever boat the otter next climbed on to.
The Result
… and the winner was …
Come in boat number 6, you’ve an otter on board…!
Dah-dah. Wow, this way of selecting our competition winner actually worked, all the action kicking off on 17th October.
So there we have it, the winning slip was the one matching boat number 6, aka “Dawn”, a wee yacht that the otter certainly seems to like and that has featured previously as an otter hot spot!
We have yet to obtain the winning slip owner’s permission to publish their details, but can tell you that our wise old otter has selected someone local in Tobermory, so saving us some postage (I was slightly relieved that we didn’t turn up the slip for the person from Alice Springs in Australia who I know had entered the competition).
It’s also someone who has been supportive of the whole otter fund project since its inception back in 2010, so a deserving winner indeed.
A HUGE thank you again to everyone who took part in the competition, often donating more than the required £1 entry fee.
We might try a similar competition next year. Better book the otter straight away :¬)
(ps – probably the worst photo of an otter I’ve ever taken, and the “V” is just in case you can’t see the wee beastie).
Competition Details (in case you had forgotten)
COMPETITION NOW CLOSED (Closing Date : midnight on 15 October 2012)
What is the scientific name for UK otters?
◊ Sutra sutra
◊ Lutra lutra (the correct answer)
◊ Nutra nutra
FIRST PRIZE – this fabulous photo canvas of Mull otters, measuring a whopping 42”x18”
Tobermory Otter Fund 