These cute otter cubs are undergoing specialist care at RSPCA Stapeley Grange in Nantwich after being orphaned when rivers overflowed in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.
One of the juvenile otters arrived at RSPCA Stapeley Grange along with her sibling last month after they were both rescued near the River Witham at Grantham in Lincolnshire.
The otters were named Foxglove and Marigold by staff at the London Road centre, who are experienced at providing the rehabilitation otters need before being safely returned to the wild.
After the ordeal of being separated from her mother, eight-week-old Foxglove is making a good recovery on a diet, which includes tasty morsels of trout.
But Marigold’s health deteriorated and she died after suffering a suspected stomach ulcer.
On Friday November 4, Stapeley Grange took delivery of another cub who had been found on a farm at Horton-in-Ribblesdale near Settle in North Yorkshire.
A local wildlife rescue provided assistance in caring for her as she was dehydrated and underweight before she was able to make the journey to Cheshire.
She is now recovering well and has been named Poppy for Remembrance Week.
RSPCA Wildlife Centre manager Lee Stewart said: “We will spend time providing the care these otters need to be returned to the wild.
“Foxglove is doing well. We are feeding her a diet of trout, which is cut up into pieces and she has a great appetite.
“Poppy is a younger cub and she was emaciated when she was rescued.
“We will look to introduce her to the other cub in the next week or so.
“Rehabilitating otters is very specialised as you need to have suitable facilities to care for them.
“Young otter cubs can be with us for up to 12 months before they can be returned to the wild so their care is not only time consuming but expensive.
“We release them at an age and size when they would naturally move off to find their own territory and way in life.
“We adopt a soft release protocol, where we build a pen from which we can release the otters.
“In it we create a den and provide a water source and then we feed them for two weeks before releasing them back into the wild.”
Foxglove and Marigold are likely to have become separated from their mother when they were washed out of their holt (den) during heavy rain.
Poppy was also stranded after a section of the River Ribble overflowed and when she was found she was following a farmer’s dogs around inside a barn.
Stapeley Grange has seen an increase in the number of otters coming through its doors as its population increases.
Lee added: “It is always very exciting to have otter cubs with us as up until the 1980s they were struggling in the wild.
“The use of chemical pesticides had a big impact on their breeding success and they weren’t protected in law until 1978, at which point numbers were low.
“But over time their numbers have steadily started to rise and they have made a comeback in most counties in the UK.
“Here at Stapeley we are seeing more being brought in for us to care for.”
If you see a wild animal in need of help, then call the RSPCA’s emergency line on 0300 1234 999.
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