News / Otter cubs reunited after losing their mum
TWO tiny otter cubs have been reunited at a wildlife sanctuary in Shetland after becoming separated when they lost their mother.
Joey and Thea were found by children in the village of Vidlin days after local people heard them calling for help.
School cleaner Caroline Robertson first heard the otters close to the redundant lobster ponds when she left work on Thursday evening at Lunnasting primary school.
She heard them again on Friday and Saturday, by which time she could tell they were in stress.
“We have had otters at the ponds ever since I came here 14 years ago, and I assume there has been a very successful mum who has one or two cubs every year,” she said.
“We normally see the mother two or three times a week in the area, but we have not seen her at all and it was obvious these cubs were quite distressed.”
The first otter cub, a young male, was found on Sunday afternoon in the pouring rain on the road outside Robertson’s house by her four year old grand son Joey and his father Steven Wilson.
They drove the otter, who they named Joey after the boy who found him, straight to Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary 20 miles away and handed him over to Jan Bevington, who has run the centre for almost 30 years.
“He was wet and cold, tired and hungry when he arrived and we really weren’t sure if he would make it,” Bevington said.
“But we warmed him up, wrapping him in an old jumper and laying him on a hot water bottle, and managed to get some pet milk down him and he came back to life.”
The following day, much to her surprise, a second call came in about a baby otter in Vidlin.
Children playing during their break at Lunnasting primary spotted the second otter in the playground running along a wall.
Head teacher Fiona Marshall said the otter started “miaowing” and did not stop even when she was approached.
Local mum Lynsey Garriock then turned up with a cat box and they tempted the otter in with dog treats. “She climbed in quite happily,” the teacher said.
Nursery teacher Ann Margaret Laurenson then drove the otter, now named Thea, to the sanctuary where she was reunited with her sibling.
“They knew each other immediately and it was lovely to see them together again after what must have been an extremely stressful time for them,” Bevington said.
“They must be around 10 days old, certainly no more than two weeks, so they have done well to survive for so long without their mother and it looks like they headed in different directions which would have made it even worse.
“When Joey arrived he was very weak and when Thea turned up she was very agitated, but they have both settled and it will be great for the pair of them to have each other now they’ve lost their mum.
“They are very lucky to have found each other and it’s already helping us get a better night’s sleep because when Joey was on his own he was squeaking all night, but with Thea they slept peacefully all night long.”
She added that otters can become stressed for no apparent reason when they are in captivity.
“We don’t feel completely out of the woods yet with these little ones, but they appear to be strong, healthy cubs so we are optimistic for their future.
“If they survive they will stay at the sanctuary until they are at least nine or ten months, which is at least how long they stay with their mother.”
Anyone wanting to follow the otter’s progress can visit the Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary Facebook page, but they are too young to be seen by the public.
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