An otter cub is recovering well after being rescued from a river bank when she was flooded out of her holt during Storm Imogen earlier this week.
The cub, who has been called Immy after the storm, is currently being cared for at Secret World Wildlife Rescue in East Huntspill near Burnham-On-Sea.
The cub was spotted washed up with her sibling on a river bank in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire on Sunday February 7th.
The two cubs were alone and crying, so the finder quickly called a rescue centre in Wiltshire for help.
He then went back to find the young cubs – but they were gone but the man did not give up on them, and began to search.
About 100 yards further down the river, he spotted the cubs on the bank and after clambering down, he managed to rescue one of the cubs and brought it up to safety. The other cub has not yet been found.
Immy has gone to Secret World, where her carer, Josie Nott, is looking after her.
“She’s been through a rough experience, but thanks to the quick actions of her finder, Immy is doing really well now,” Josie told Burnham-On-Sea.com.
“She’s about six weeks old, we think. I’m feeding her with a puppy milk replacement every couple of hours, and although she’s lost some weight since being rescued, I’m really pleased that she’s now putting it back on again.”
“She’s a feisty little girl, and very playful and noisy with her high-pitched peeping. At first she seemed anxious but now she’s bright, healthy and likes to give me a good nip.”
“Young otters usually move on to eating fish at about eight weeks so we’re waiting for her to give us the sign that she’s ready,” she added.
“We’re really hoping that her sibling will be found and they can be reunited.”
“Otters are social creatures when young, and it is heart-breaking that she is on her own at the moment.”
“She likes to play, and it’s important that I spend time playing with her as that’s what she’d be doing with her brothers and sisters in the wild.”
