One of our favourite rescues and releases...
An otter cub, found in a barn in Horton in Ribblesdale in 2022, originally mistaken by the finder for a ferret found its way to us. The little female stayed the night in one of our volunteers kitchen, waiting for the RSPCA to collect the following day. She was tiny and hungry, she spent the night being hand fed fish and comforted as she cried for her mum.
We liaise with the RSPCA often and in this case she was taken to RSPCA Stapeley Grange in Cheshire who take in lots of widlife, including otters. There she was put into a pair with a young male, they had an enclosure with a pool, lots of space and experienced carers. It costs thousands of pounds to raise an otter cub to maturity, she stayed there with her mate for nearly a year before they were ready for release.
Protocol says that a breeding pair return to the site the female was found, so on a wintery day in November 23 the pair returned to a specially built enclosure in Horton. There they remained for several weeks accustomising themselves to their surroundings, being fed fish and chicks and having the ice broken on their pool every morning.. No longer cute but actually quite fierce, the volunteers were always ready to hop back over the electric fencing quickly if need be! Once they were ready to leave the electric fencing was removed and they were free to head back out into their wild lives.
We hear reports often of the otters on the river, extending right down to Giggleswick, each report gives a little happiness boost!
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