Back in January 2013, three otter cubs were found over the course of a few days, and
were soon in the care of Jean Thorpe MBE (Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation) - one
of our long standing volunteers and key member of the LDV NNR Team. It is
likely that these cubs had been orphaned with the females possibly run over on
local roads as a result of the river levels being high. Otters don’t tend to swim
under bridges for some reason – instead preferring to walk along ledges or the
river bank. As the river levels come up this often submerges the banks or
ledges forcing the otters to walk up and over the bridge, often bringing them
into contact with vehicles and occasionally getting hit by them.
As usual, having assessed the situation and weighed up the
options, Jean gave them emergency care in the short term before they were taken
to The Chestnut Centre in Derbyshire before going on to their bigger centre,
The New Forest Wildlife Park for rearing. They do an amazing job with the rehab
of wild otters, which is a fairly long process as the cubs take about 18 months
to mature before they would leave their mother naturally in the wild. One of
the cubs unfortunately did not make it but the two males grew well.
.JPG)
.JPG)
Both these otter cubs had fur covered that was covered in
white spots – a less frequently seen form than the more usually plain brown
form – historically known as royal otters.
Around the same time another female cub came into care at
Jean’s, from Skerne East Yorkshire, found alone on a cold and frosty
night. She was soon revived but had an injury to her tail. Mike Jones from
Battleflatts Vets, Stamford Bridge examined her and the tip of her tail had
withered and she needed an operation to remove the dead tissue. Mike did a
wonderful job and her tail healed well, she was then named Stumpy! She too
travelled down to the New Forest and was superbly cared for.
Release plans were put in place and the three adults, Hover
and Rye (the spotted royal otters) and Stumpy were to be brought back to the
area once the time was right. Hover and Rye were to be released in the Lower
Derwent Valley NNR as the site falls within the wider catchment in which they
were found. The site also offers a safe, undisturbed and prime area of habitat
in which they can settle in and find their feet in their early days in the
wild. The timing is also important in that the floods around the valley have receded
and there is plenty of available food (fish and amphibians) concentrated into
the 90 km of ditches around the reserve.
A small pen, made from electric
fencing in an area of dense wetland vegetation and with a small pond, plenty of
willow scrub to lay up under and room for their travelling boxes was made. The day of the release came, and what a glorious one it was, a Wheatear bounced
along the river bank fence posts as we headed to the site, and the sounds of
displaying Lapwing, Curlew and Redshank overhead could be heard with the
constant back ground accompaniment of Skylarks. Loafing drake Mallards, Gadwall
and Shoveler were present along the riverbank and ditch sides suggesting the females
were incubating clutches nearby, and vast numbers of tadpoles and shoals of fish
were present in some of the ponds – what better place to start the rest of
their free and wild lives. Hover & Rye were clearly ready to be back in
this environment and didn’t hang around for long, not needing to take advantage
of the free food hand outs over the next few days – a great result.
Stumpy was taken to her release site in East Yorkshire with
our partners at the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust where she was quietly placed in
the pen, she was more reserved than the males and didn't come out into the open instantly like Hover & Rye. Her release went well and she now too has gone out into wonderful otter habitat away from roads and people.
Whilst the release was a truly wonderful experience to be
involved with, it was just the final hours of a long 18 month journey which
included a whole host of people, starting with the concerned householders of
Fryton, Slingsby and Skerne who first found and reported them, Ed Heap, Roger
Heap, Jason and Donna and all the staff at the Chestnut Centre and New Forest
Wildlife Park for their wonderful care of these orphans, Mike Jones, the vet
for his support and care for wild animals, Jon Trail at the YWT and all the
staff and volunteers at the Lower Derwent Valley NNR. But most importantly, Jean
Thorpe for her excellent care and dedication as always, and for coordinating
the whole process.
