Tiny garden visitor’s a complete and otter surprise
WANDERING CUB RESCUED BY RSPCA
AN Anglesey woman thought her mother-inlaw was seeing things when she spotted something small, brown and furry in the back garden.
But Susan Fidler, from Bodorgan, was stunned when a baby otter appeared and proved her eyes were working just fine.
The aquatic mammal, which appeared to be no more than a baby, was then rescued by the RSPCA.
Mrs Fidler said the otter cub was taken to the nearest specialist sanctuary in Cheshire, where it will be cared for until it is ready for release back into the wild in Anglesey.
She told the Mail’s sister paper The Daily Post: “We joked at first she must be seeing things, but I couldn’t believe it when the otter came back. The man who came from the RSPCA said that, because we had not long had a lot of rain, they do their foraging in the shallow rivers and with the extra water they thought it had maybe wandered onto land.
“We’ve never seen anything like this in the garden before.
“It’s apparently quite rare for otters to come so far into land, but we called the RSPCA to come and help as they’re an endangered species so we couldn’t just leave it.”
Mrs Fidler said her family is incredibly grateful for the speedy response of the RSCPA, adding that they do “wonderful work”.
She was impressed by how knowledgeable the rescuer was.
According to Natural Resources Wales, the otter is protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, known as the Habitats Regulations.
This is because the otter population has declined throughout Europe in recent decades and numbers remain fairly low in Wales.
The North Wales Wildlife Trust reports that it is, in fact, much easier to spot the signs of otters being in the area than seeing the animals themselves.
Telltale signs along riverbanks and waterways include five-toed footprints and droppings or “spraints”.
Otters leave spraints in prominent places, such as fallen trees, weirs and bridges, as “scented messages”, helping them to find mates and defend territories.
They contain visible fish bones and have a distinctive, pleasant smell, reminiscent of jasmine tea.