Out walking the dog in my woods early yesterday morning and could here a very loud continuous bird call next to the brook. Looked hard for the bird but couldn't see it. Put the dog in the water for a swim and looked up to see an otter cub walking purposefully towards me crying out. It curled up in some bracken about ten feet away so I called the dog (who was oblivious !) and backed off to watch it from cover for about half an hour. It just sat there. Went back up to the house and returned with my wife about half an hour later to find it still in the same spot looking miserable. Decided that its mother wasn't around and that there was a high likelihood it would get attacked by a passing dog later in the day or squished by a car so brought the thing home - leather gloves and plastic box needed. A few phone calls to the relevant authorities (some strict laws about taking these wild animals ) and within two hours I had Countryside Council for Wales and RSPCA round the house to pick the thing up and take it to the refuge near Brecon. Consensus of opinion was that I had done the right thing. This one was about 12 weeks old and they are pretty useless on their own for the first year. Latest news is that the little chap is doing fine but was very hungry and polished off a trout in short order last night.
Although they breed all year round there is a bit of a population blip in December so that they can emerge from the holts in time to eat the new frog population. Cubs do turn up this time of year on their own if their mothers have been killed or if they have been washed away in flash floods.
So keep your eyes and ears open and you might be lucky - it made my day.
Although they breed all year round there is a bit of a population blip in December so that they can emerge from the holts in time to eat the new frog population. Cubs do turn up this time of year on their own if their mothers have been killed or if they have been washed away in flash floods.
So keep your eyes and ears open and you might be lucky - it made my day.
