A LOTTA OTTERS
Incredible orphan rescue
OTTERS have made a mighty comeback after nearly being wiped out – and one man has led the fight.
Paul Yoxon has saved 180 orphans since setting up his sanctuary. But he warns that while the babies may look ridiculously cute, you have to keep your distance.
Paul, 60, said: “Usually they have lost their mothers in road accidents and are found frightened and alone.
“Otters need to be with their mother until they are 14 months old. When they come to us we care for them for that length of time. But human contact needs to be kept to a minimum. If they’re too tame they can’t cope with life alone.
“Cubs need feeding every three hours and progress from milk that has very low levels of lactose to small pieces of fish.
“When they are ready, we release them into the wild and sometimes use radio trackers to see how they cope. Usually they’re finding food in a few hours.”
Paul and his wife Grace set up the International Otter Survival Fund in 1993. Their current residents are Sofi, found on a caravan park on the Isle of OUR vet Brian Faulkner, from Petplan, has 16 years of experience and is a freelance working all over the country. Send your questions to Brian at: Petplan, Great West House, Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9DX or via Petplan’s Facebook page facebook.com/ PetplanUK. Skye, Noelle, who was handed in at a dog rescue kennel in Peterborough, Cambs, and Ganga, who came from the Scottish borders. All are three months old.
Otters were almost extinct in the 20th century because of pesticide poisoning and loss of habitat. Now rivers are cleaner and, thanks to the tireless work of people like Paul, they can be spotted across the country, especially in Scotland, Wales, northern England and East Anglia.
In the UK otters live to be only six years old because of high mercury levels still in the water. But in places such as the Czech Republic they can reach 16.
Paul also travels the globe on otter missions. He was in a team that found the hairy-nosed otter in Vietnam and Thailand, thought to be extinct. And he has studied them across Asia, educating on the cruelty of the otter fur trade.
He moved from Liverpool to Skye to open the sanctuary. But the work is not cheap. He needs five staff and it costs £125,000 a year to run.
He said: “We do become very attached to the cubs but our focus is taking them back to where they belong.” For more on Paul’s work, see otter.org. MY nineyear-old cocker spaniel has bizarre eating habits. She has taken to digging up raw potatoes and eating them. Is this dangerous?
Hairy