November 10, 2022 7.45 am This story is over 28 months old

Otter cubs washed away from River Witham rescued by RSPCA

One of the cubs unfortunately died during treatment
By Local Democracy Reporter

Two otter siblings were rescued near the River Witham at Grantham after rivers overflowed in Lincolnshire – separating the young cubs from their mother.

The otters, named Foxglove and Marigold by staff at RSPCA Stapeley Grange in Cheshire, were rescued from the River Witham last month – as water levels peaked and flooding hit Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.

They were taken into the wildlife centre for treatment, and there is good news and bad news on their conditions.

Foxglove, now eight weeks old, is making a good recovery on a diet that included morsels of trout – surviving the ordeal despite being separated from her mother at such a young age.

Unfortunately, Marigold’s health deteriorated and she died after suffering from a suspected stomach ulcer.

It is likely that heavy rain washed Foxglove and Marigold out of their holt and away from their mother, as they were found in different locations across Bridge End Road in Grantham.

Poppy was rescued from near a farm in South Yorkshire, not long after Marigold and Foxglove were brought in from Lincolnshire. | Photo: RSPCA

Then, on Friday, November 4, Stapeley Grange took on another otter cub, this time found on a farm at Horton-in-Ribblesdale, South Yorkshire.

She was called Poppy for Remembrance Week, and is now recovering well.

RSPCA Wildlife Centre manager Lee Stewart said: “We will spend time providing the care these otters need to be returned to the wild.

“Foxglove is doing well. We are feeding her a diet of trout, which is cut up into pieces and she has a great appetite.

“Rehabilitating otters is very specialised as you need to have suitable facilities to care for them.

“Young otter cubs can be with us for up to 12 months before they can be returned to the wild so their care is not only time consuming but expensive.

“We release them at an age and size when they would naturally move off to find their own territory and way in life.”

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