An unexpected arrival

Well, what a beautiful winter we are having aren’t we? Lots of freezing cold days with no chance of idling or you’ll freeze to death in a flash! Amazing how no-one wants to sit down for very long while it’s this cold isn’t it?

One of our first big jobs recently was clearing our little island of all of the tree and scrub growth that has been allowed to develop in the last few years. A half day of chain-sawing and cutting was all it took, great we thought, but we hadn’t taken into consideration just how much mess we’d make. It took four days to drag it off the island using the boat and truck and another few days to cut it up and burn it. This was not helped by the frozen pond, the ice was too thin to risk walking on it but our little flat bottomed dingy was too light (even with me in it) to break through it. The result was that we ended up using the dingy as a very large skate, great for wasting time enjoying yourself with little pushes here and there, but not so good for getting things done.

Our bridge building in the Marsh Lake is also progressing very well. About sixty feet of new walkway has now been built and that only (only???) leaves us about two hundred feet of footpath to make a start on, lets hope the weather holds eh?

All of the animals seem to be getting used to our winter routine and are very relaxed at the moment. Hansel (our Fallow buck) leads the way, approaching anyone who he thinks might give him some food or attention. If you haven’t got any of the former and don’t have time for the latter you’d better watch out because he has developed a habit of gently head butting you if you ignore him;- don’t let him catch you on the river bank!

Hilda’s cub (who we are thinking of calling Darcy but haven’t quite decided yet) is doing very well indeed. We don’t know its sex yet as Hilda is very protective and won’t let me have a look. It is very dark coloured and very big (one of Williams’ traits). Its eyes opened on the 30th November and that is consistent with a birthday of 26th October. I go in to say hello most days and although most of the time I can get nice and close without causing any stress to any of them I can’t get quite close enough to lay on hands and sex it without scaring them (and me!). We are starting to see it out during the day every now and then but more regularly at dusk when we have seen it being dragged into the pond for a three second dip and then being returned to the holt under duress.

William is still in the same pen as Hilda and the cub and seems to be getting used to things. His place in the current circumstances is confusing to both him and us however. Sometimes he is allowed in with the cub unsupervised and that seems to go well, other times he is attacked by Hilda (apparently just for breathing) and on one occasion we saw him being attacked (albeit very briefly) by the cub! Did he try to defend himself? No he didn’t, he legged it while Hilda looked on nonplussed! Very odd.

On Sunday 14th December, a bright, dry, cold day Mandy and I arrived for work as usual. As we went about our morning jobs we heard an unusual call, something between a blackbird’s alarm call and a high pitched childish scream. We heard it every few minutes but couldn’t locate or identify the source. After a bit of searching we found a dead Muntjac doe who looked as though she had died very recently. We concentrated out efforts near to her and after a couple of minutes Mandy found the source of the peculiar sound under a bush; a new born Muntjac fawn, umbilical cord still attached, very cold and very hungry. He was about 5 inches tall and one of the tiniest, cutest things I have ever seen. Straight into my jacket pocket then home and under a heat lamp. Dasher (yes, Dasher, on the insistence of our children) is now a couple of weeks old and doing well. He is playful and extremely fast when he doesn’t want to be caught. He lives with us at home and will continue to do so until the weather warms up. He lies quietly in his box until it approaches feeding time. As soon as he sees his bottle he is up; a big stretch and then he trots over to you and has his meal. After that its playtime, followed by a little exploring (he has access to most of the house but can’t do stairs yet). After an hour or so that’s it, he either takes himself back to his box or settles under the rocking chair or his favourite radiator. Before you ask, no he doesn’t mess everywhere, he’s got nice manners and waits to be stimulated before going to the toilet. Very civilised.

Happy New Year.

A brief note on Hilda

Hilda and her cub continue to do well. We've been in with her several times now and she is now confident enough to let Mandy and I in the pen with them and approach her holt without getting into a panic or being aggressive towards us. She is eating well and looks to be in very good condition although I would expect a slight deterioration in her physical well being in the next week or two as the cub becomes more demanding on her. The cubs' coat is turning brown and it is beginning to look like a small version of its mum. It is around ten inches long (a guess, we aren't handling it at the moment) and its eyes are still closed; we expect them to open in ten to fourteen days when it reaches five weeks old. As you can see from the photo it isn't easy to gather information at this stage.

William is still in the pen with Hilda but has been using a separate holt for the past few weeks. He has been curious about her and her holt but hadn't dared to venture too close in case she attacked him. However, we've seen him coming out of her holt on several occasions in the last few days. On one instance she was outside the holt waiting to be fed and as we approached we saw him come out of her holt. We checked straight away and everything was fine but we didn't expect her to allow him access at such an early stage. I don't know of any examples of dog otters harming their cubs but it still makes us rather nervous. It may be that the recent cold spell has driven them together for warmth. If so, let's hope it warms up soon.

Posted by the otter Keeper.

Closed...

Another open season finishes, each year seems to go by even more quickly than the last. The weather was good over half term bringing the visitors in which was great to see before we close for the winter months.

We hope as we are sure you do that next year will be a lot drier than the wet summer we had this year!

Well the “closed season” started off in a very exciting way for us as Hilda our three year old British Otter has given birth to one cub. She had not been out for a few days although we knew she was in her box. So on Monday morning John had a peek just to check that all was well with her and had a glimpse of a small grey and brown cub. He immediately put the lid down as we did not want to upset them.
We have increased her food and moved the food box nearer the gate so that we will disturb them as little as possible. She has caught us all by surprise and William is still living in the pen although we had noticed he had been evicted from the main box and is in the other one in the enclosure. We have deliberated whether or not to remove him but feel that it may upset Hilda more if we start catching him up and she is a very feisty character and is definitely more dominant than poor William who has obviously been told to keep well away!

We know the cub is less than two weeks old as we cleaned out the boxes on the 23rd October.
It is early days so we have to keep our fingers crossed that all continues well for Hilda and her cub, we will keep you updated as things progress.

Biggy, Smalley, Cinnamon and Leap continue to do well and we are making sure that we still go in with them each day as they enjoy the interaction with the keepers almost as much as we do!
They were being a bit of a nuisance yesterday as we were changing the water in their pen and they insist on getting involved in whatever we are trying to do so everything takes a lot longer than with any of the otters at the centre.

Hansel our young buck has been trying to take control of the does as the rutting season is in full swing, he barks at them and tries to boss them around but does not have enough experience for the older ones to take him seriously.
We are settling into the new winter routine and drawing up the list of jobs to be done so we will not be idle over the months.

We will keep you updated on the centre and in particular the cubs over the next few months.

Posted by Mandy

Autumn Approaches

It’s getting to that time of year now where everything is starting to wind down. Not only with the amount of visitors but our animals seem to be calming down as well.

We seem to be seeing a bit more of our wallabies at the moment and they appear to be getting increasingly relaxed around us. Once upon a time they would have been quite happily let you get within a few feet of them and then would have hopped off. Now however, they will quite happily stay put on the pathways and let you walk past without giving you so much as a second glance.

The otters are also being quite lazy at the moment amd it is much more of an effort trying to get them to come out at feeding times. William and Hilda are the only two otters that have an excuse of being lazy at the moment, as they seem to be concentrating on the future of the species as we have actually seen them mating in the past week, so fingers crossed there.

The cubs have also been a lot calmer than usual, with Biggy and Smally more interested in having cuddles than running around and getting excited, Cinnamon and Leap have also been getting a lot closer to the keepers over the past couple of weeks with Cinnmaon coming over for more and more cuddles and Leap will sit quite happily next to the keepers whilst munching on her food.
The only animals that seem to be the exception regarding laziness are the waterfowl. All of the ducks and geese have been very noisy lately indeed. In particular the Chinese Fawn Geese seem to be making the most noise and spread themselves out all over the place, so no matter where you are they still seem to be getting under your feet.

The Fallow deer seem to be adjusting to Nigels’ demise quite well and although they are understandably a bit wary of new things they are still coming down to feed out of peoples’ hands. Our next task is regarding the Fallow deer is to try and sex the three fawns, however at the moment as soon as they realise they are being watched they decide to hide themselves away.

Posted by Sonia

Some sad news.

Unfortunately since the last time a blog was written we have had some sad days regarding our animals. The worst day concerns Nigel our fallow deer buck. Unfortunately he has been getting on in years -15 years old and over the last few weeks we have noticed him getting slower and being quite shaky on his back legs. Regrettably we then had to make the decision to have him put down. This was a very sad day for all and I’m sure many tears were shed by the staff as he had become such a well known and friendly part of our fallow deer herd. However it was in his best interests, as it was a case of having to be cruel to be kind and not letting him suffer.

Just before this we also had the death of a wallaby. We think this was another case of old age and the wallaby died a natural death.

As well as old age being responsible for these two deaths we have also lost some young birds. One of the guinea fowl chicks died leaving just one. The one that was left is doing ok and seems to be perfectly healthy and we are unclear as to why the other one died. Also the peachicks that we had have also all died. We never seem to be very lucky with our peachicks, it could be because the parents don’t pass enough of the right genes on to their youngsters, however we are not 100% sure why.

On to some happier news and better days…….

As you may recall, the last time this was written we had had some extremely bad weather and quite a bit of damage in the park resulting from this. Whilst the weather since hasn’t been brilliant we haven’t had any repeats of the floods in such a big scale and all of the repairs that were needed have been successful.

The drier weather also means that we have managed to get on with putting together our new otter pen, which is now nearly complete except for a few minor touches. This means that we can now have a swap around with some of our otters. This will give them all a change of scenery and maybe address a few issues between them, for example: Honey is still as greedy as ever and continues to pinch mum’s (Harriett’s) food if she can, so no doubt Harriett will be pleased to get her food back to herself and Honey will have to learn how to stand on her own two feet a bit more rather than relying on her mum who spoils her as much as possible.

Tino and Tamarisk may also be glad to have a break from each other as they do play rather enthusiastically, which means they do get along well but also tend to cause each other minor injuries every now and again so they might be grateful for the opportunity to calm down and relax a bit.

Carmen who has spent her months being back at the park on her own may get the opportunity to have some company and see if she can impress a male with her feminine ottery charms.

William and Hilda might be glad of a change, as they get on well together and are very relaxed in each others company but they appear to be so relaxed with each other that they can quite easily get through the day ignoring each other, with the result that so far we haven’t yet had any cubs.

Finally the cubs, Biggy, Smalley, Cinnamon and Leap. They all get on very well and can be seen daily playing, eating and sleeping together. However whilst Biggy and Smalley have nearly reached their full adult size, Cinnamon and Leap have still got quite a way to go and therefore could do some damage accidentally when playing with Biggy and Smalley or simply British Otters like to live on their own or in pairs, not in family groups like the Asian Short Clawed Otters, so as they get older they may decide that four is a much too big a group and they no longer want to live with Biggy and Smalley. So before any accidental injuries or ill feelings occur we will split them up so that Biggy and Smalley have each other and Cinnamon and Leap have each other.

Overall I think all of the British Otters will appreciate the change as naturally they don’t stay with each other for long and will encounter new things, so this will give them the opportunity to experience some new scenery, new smells and new company.

For the time being we have come to a halt on all of the young animals at the park, for example, the waterfowl, deer and owls have all had their breeding seasons, however we never know what might happen with the otters! . The rest of the park is abundant in waterfowl after all of the new additions that have joined it this year. The fawns and joeys are all continuing to do well and are gaining in confidence. The cubs are all continuing to be bundles of fun, Biggy tries to get up to as much mischief as possible and Smalley still enjoys playing in his own little world and playing catch with Cinnamon or Leaps tail. Cinnamon has become much more cuddly, now she’s started having cuddles I think she’s realised she’s onto a good thing and isn’t afraid of asking for one - which can be quite scary for the keepers! Leap has also gained in confidence enormously and is seen a lot more joining in at playtimes and isn’t worried anymore by the keeper being there.

The adult animals are all looking good at the moment as well, particularly as they have all completely finished moulting and are in prime condition - this is particularly noticeable in the golden pheasant and Korulah which were both looking particularly shabby earlier on in the year.

We still haven’t seen any sightings of the barn owl chicks that we released a couple of months ago, however they are occasionally stopping by for some food which we are still leaving out for them, so it appears that they are doing well.

We had the BBC here a couple of weeks ago filming Harriett and Honey for a Cornwall edition of Escape to the Country, look out for that on TV in December.

Karullah our Bengal eagle owl decided to get up to some mischief a couple of weeks ago, when she decided to explore the big wide world for herself!

Every morning she gets brought out of her aviary and taken to her perch at the front of the park so that people can get a close look at her and she can have a change of scenery and watch everything that's going on or just be plain lazy and lie in the sun. Sometimes we let her fly from our gloved hand to her perch. We do this a few feet away from her perch, in a straight line, so that she can see where she's got to go. This gives her a chance to stretch her wings and do something a bit different. On occassions she has been known to overshoot her perch slightly, usually landing outside the tearoom (and once on the tearoom roof!), however she then normally flies back to her perch from a different angle or waits patiently to be picked up.

However, this particular morning that we decided to let her fly to her perch she decided she wanted to explore. No sooner was she off the glove and she flew straight up into the air and off into the distance. We then got quite worried and went to look for her. The day went on and there was still no sign of her. By nightfall we were obviously very concerned and hoped that she might fly back to her aviary at some point in the night, as thats the place she can call home. Everyone went home that evening very worried about her and our worries were heightened even more by the fact that that evening we had torrential rain and thunder and lightening. Could things really be any worse for poor karullah?

The next day we went back to have another look and we still couldn't find her. By the second afternoon we were beginning to wonder if we would see her again. However our luck changed and at about 6-7pm she was found sitting in the car park, competely dry and quite calm. She gladly got back onto the keepers arm and once checked over to make sure she was ok, she went straight back to her aviary for a late tea. She didn't seem at all upset by her venture and was acting like she had had a perfectly normal day.

We were extremely relieved and happy to get her back and needless to say she wont be flying free to her perch again.

So, that’s about it for now but don’t forget to look out for us on TV in December.

Written by Sonia.

Wet again

Well what a time we've had over the last week at the otter park. As any of you will know that have visited Cornwall this Summer we have had our share of rain and more! Last week in particular was very bad for the park. It all started on Wednesday morning, we had had a lot of rain the previous night and were slightly apprehensive as to what the park might be like the next day. However, upon arrival it didn't seem too bad and initial thoughts were that we may have to open half an hour later just to make sure everything was okay. However between 10am-11am things got worse, with the rain coming down in torrents and all the water that had been cleared originally started building up again extremely quickly. With the water level building up the park and the staff were finding it hard to control and pretty soon the bridges started flooding, the stream had broken its banks, the footpath was flooded and a rip current began in front of Tino and Tamarisks' pen quickly expanding from 4 foot wide to 20 foot wide. Water was starting to take over the place at an alarming rate. The cubs pen is about 4 feet higher than the stream and even that started flooding. This was quite worrying, as the water started rising and only a small amount of land was visible in their pen, however they were all very sensible and stayed inside, apart from Biggy who thought it was all good fun! This was just the start of our problems however, as the rip current that had started at Tino and Tamarisks' pen had become so fierce that it took down two sections of the fence surrounding their pen which was soon under 2 feet of water. Fortunately Tino and Tamarisk slept right through it so there were no attempted escapes. Finally the whole site was completely flooded, the water on the footpath became waist deep and the waterfowl lake, marsh lake and the main river outside the park all became one, so that it was impossible to tell them apart.. The end result was that the park couldn't open and all of the staff from the tearoom, shop and outside spent the rest of the day in waders trying to repair all of the damage that had been done and stop any more from occurring. All in all it was a very disheartening day and definitely not something you expect to happen in the middle of the summer.

Although that Wednesday was particularly bad and repairs were still being carried out for the rest of the week, as more damage had been found to the fences, it hasn't all been bad news and the animals are all doing well.

Nigel's looking much more like his usual self with both antlers pretty much fully grown and all of his velvet is starting to dry up. This means he will soon be rubbing his antlers up against the trees as they will be starting to itch and irritate him. Then once he's got rid of all of that velvet he will have two proper antlers and can start strutting his stuff for all the does. He has been putting his current antlers to use though, as he is the main suspect in repeated damages to equipment, such as various dents and holes, this makes us wonder how long our animal feed bins for the public will last, once he realises he can have a continuous supply of food by keep knocking them onto the floor.

The fallow deer fawns are also doing well. They have been looked after brilliantly by their mums and the rest of the herd and it appears they have been learning from them all, as they are now starting to build in confidence and are getting closer to members of the public, no doubt realising that those deer that are slightly braver (including Hansel our young buck) get extra helpings of food each time they get close to the public as they will gladly eat out of peoples hands. I wonder how long it will take the young fawns to follow in their greedy elders footsteps?

Whilst the weather hasn't been brilliant we have managed to let three of the ducklings out into the rest of the park, that had previously hatched from the incubator. They are finding their way round and are doing well. However it seems that they are missing their companions inside, as we still have seven ducklings indoors and they tried to sneak back in to see them whilst they were being cleaned out.

Our young joeys seem to be getting bigger now and with it much bolder. You are more likely to see them munching away on some leaves a few feet away from their mums now rather than just the odd little head poking out of a pouch. However they don't stray too far away from their mums, as they are still looking for protection and can jump straight back in the pouch when it feels necessary. It seems one pair of wallabies - a mum and her Joey have been on the move and have migrated from the woodland area to the marsh lake and just outside the tea room, where they have been able to enjoy a tasty banana skin or two. As well as the joeys becoming more active and bolder, the other wallabies seem to be getting more active as well. It looks as though its mating time again, which means there is more chance of seeing these animals close to as they are less worried about people and only interested in each other, so we have seen some fantastic mating displays and chases.

The two barn owls that we let go appear to be doing well. Whilst we haven't seen them we have found signs that they are coming back. They have been eating some of the food that we have been leaving out for them and whilst this could mean they aren't getting food themselves they are also leaving behind some nice big pellets which have been changing in colour. This indicates that they are managing to hunt for themselves and are just coming back for a top up and also shows that they are staying in the area, which is quite nice to know.

We also have some fresh faces in the park - three peachicks, two guinea fowl chicks and thirteen cockatiels. Two of the peachicks are being kept indoors with the two guinea fowl chicks as the guinea fowl left her nest and the eggs were hatched in the incubator and in the past the peahens don't seem to do too well looking after their chicks. However we have left one of the peachicks with its mum as she spent all that time hiding her nest and sitting on her eggs, we thought she should be able to see the end result and be given the chance to rear one of the chicks herself. Thirteen cockatiels - some people might say unlucky for some but these birds seem to be doing very well and enjoying the park. We had an empty aviary and the offer to temporarily house these birds, so thought it would make a change for the visitors and the cockatiels and the cockatiels certainly seem to be enjoying themselves.

Onto the otters now and it seems we could be expecting some fresh faces there later on this year as Raymond and Zephyr, from the family’s pen, have been seen mating again this week, which must be the second or third time this month. Unfortunately Tino has had a fat eye due to some overenthusiastic play with Tamarisk last week, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him and they are continuing to play just as exuberantly.

The cubs are still adoringly cute and Cinnamon is starting to get very cuddly. She has been climbing onto John and Mandy’s lap every time they go into the pen and seems to be enjoying being tickled. Whilst she seems to be enjoying this and has started realising that she has been missing out on all of the cuddles that Biggy and Smalley have had for so long now it is rather worrying for the keepers, as she is getting quite big and has very sharp teeth with a strong grip! Leap is also gaining in confidence but not to the point that she is yet having cuddles and tickles, but she is coming out more often when the other cubs are out and enjoys playing with them all. Whilst Cinnamon and Leap are growing quickly and Biggy is still quite a bit larger than Smalley who still seems to be boss of the group and gets away with pretty much everything. Biggy, however remains the most vocal and attention seeking otter we've ever known but still manages to be very cute!


Here’s hoping for some drier weather, Sonia.

Barn Owls update

Just a very brief note to say that we think that at least one of the Barn Owl chicks returned on Tuesday night and took all of the food left in the Owl box. A very good sign indeed. My suspicion is that they are still together and will remain in the local area until they become more established. The weather here has been very wet for the last couple of days and isn't ideal for young, inexperienced birds learning to hunt so we are leaving out larger than usual portions for the next few days. Fingers crossed for drier weather in the coming week.

Otters in town

What a busy week we’ve had and I’m not just talking about more visitors to the Centre either!

The Barn Owl chicks are doing well, their appetites are good and we’ve managed not to imprint them at all. Every time we approach them they hiss and click away at us, both very healthy signs that they didn’t trust us one bit.

By the middle of last week they both looked likely to fledge, all their down had gone and they looked great in their newly grown feathers so we opened the door to the outside world for them. They spent four or five days just taking in the view but this morning their supper from last night was untouched and the birds had gone. I don’t think they will be very far away and we’ll continue to leave food out for them for a while to give them support while they hopefully learn to hunt for themselves.

Back to otters now and last Sunday afternoon (everything seems to happen on Sundays recently) we received a number of telephone calls saying that there was a distressed otter cub in a drain by a river bridge in the centre of Launceston. We went to investigate and found a group of people watching a small cub that was hiding in a storm drain; they were just a few yards from a busy, noisy main road. It was 3pm on a very sunny afternoon and not the sort of time or place you’d expect to find such a shy animal.

Apparently an otter and possibly two cubs had been attacked by a group of ducks protecting ducklings, the three had become separated and one of the cubs had taken refuge in the drain. The hunter had become the hunted!! The bad news was that people who had seen the cub up close thought it had at least two injuries that might need medical treatment.

We caught the frightened little thing without too much trouble and took her back to the Centre so we could have a proper look at her. She was about five weeks old and once we had cleaned her up her “injuries” turned out to be nothing more than grease, probably from the inside of the drain. We fed her and then Mandy and I assessed the situation: we had a healthy cub and we knew exactly where it had been found. We suspected that its mum would stay around searching for her cub for at least a few hours so should we try to get them back together?

We knew that time was against us and that if we were going to find mum we had to do it as soon as possible so off we went with the cub in a small cage in the back of the van whistling for its mum the entire journey. It was just after 5pm. First we tried an area slightly down river of the bridge as that was where mum had been last seen. I whistled, the kids whistled and even Mandy whistled but we just couldn’t get the cub to call at all. Typical.

Then we tried near the bridge where she had been found. I just opened the back of the van and whistled for a minute or two and then, was that a reply? The cub thought so because she suddenly started to call at the top of her tiny voice! There were only a few people around and we didn’t want to attract any attention so I surreptitiously took the cage and placed it under the river bank where it would be hard to see from the road. The cub was still calling but I didn’t want to let it go until we were sure that mum was nearby, it might not be so easy to catch a second time. There was definitely an otter coming closer, we couldn’t see it but the calls were getting louder and louder.

When I was sure that mum was only a few metres away I took the cub from the cage and waded with her to an island in the middle of the river. I set it down in good cover and retreated. Five minutes passed and I didn’t see the next bit, but a lady standing in her garden did; she beckoned me over and said she had been watching our activities (so much for being secretive) and had just seen two otters, one a cub, together not far from where I had set her down. I watched the area with her and soon we saw them together in the shallows moving towards an area of dense cover. We then left them alone.

First thing the next morning Mandy and I went back to the river and had a good look around. We found a couch or resting place in deep cover where the otters had spent some time and then moved on. We were pretty sure that they had left the area the way they had arrived; as a family.

Chuffed to bits? You bet we were.

Summers coming, isn't it?

Its that time of year again, no not the impending summer holidays, I mean its the end of the breeding season for most of our animals and birds here. Only one doe remains pregnant and boy is she huge!!No I mean really HUGE. It looks like she's about to explode but is very content with herself and doesn't seem in any discomfort apart from the weight of the fawn inside her. She's eating for Queen and country and competing with Nigel in the "Greedy Deer of the Year" contest. We await the results of her, literal, labours.

The Chinese Fawn Goslings have been released into the main park and are finding their way around quite well. They have been reunited with their duckling comrades and the 6 of them are usually found together.

Our Snowy Owl has built us up and let us down. She sat for nearly 5 weeks in all sorts of weather before hatching the first of her 3 eggs. She cared for the owlet very well for 6 days until the next chick hatched one Saturday morning. No sooner had one hatched than she ate the first one and within 4 hours had gone on to kill and eaten the second. We took out the remaining egg later that afternoon but it failed to hatch. I know that Snowy Owls have been noted to have cannibalistic tendencies but she really took us by surprise and we are all very disappointed that there are no new Snowy Owls this year.

Last Sunday 2 Barn Owl chicks were brought in to the Centre by a lady from a nearby village. She had been checking her horses earlier that day and had found the pair in short grass in the middle of a field far away from any trees or buildings with no clue as to how they had come to be there. They were both still very downy with some tail and wing feathers just coming through. One was alive but clearly unwell and the other appeared to be dead as it lay flat out in the bottom of a cardboard box; both were cold and wet. The first thing was to get them under a heat lamp and what a magical device that is. Half an hour under the lamp was all it took to get them both dry and on their feet, the dead one wasn't dead after all. I took them home and managed to feed them a little that night but although their stomachs felt empty they weren't very willing to eat. During the next three days we managed to establish a feeding routine with them and on Thursday we moved them into a purpose built owl box 12 feet off the ground in the lean-to part of the barn. We won't interact with them at all from now on if we can help it, they have room enough to eat, stretch and grow without any undue interference from us. Their box has 2 entrances, the one into the barn is open at present but as they approach fledging in three weeks or so we will open the outer door. Barn Owl are territorial and hopefully they will stay in the area so that we can monitor them as they grow.

All the otters are well, the cubs in particular are fine and dandy. Last week I made the mistake of putting my coat on the grass so that I could sit on it without getting wet. They all thought it was great fun, tunnelling into the sleeves, hiding under it etc. as I sat but what I hadn't noticed was that Cinnamon was stalking me from under my coat. It was too late to get out of the way when I did!! She had leaped at my right hand and had it in a grip like a vice. I yelped and so did she as she let me go. I'm sure she was just playing and had expected me to tease her by getting out of the way before she struck otherwise I'm sure the damage would have been much worse than the fairly minor punctures I was left with. Just goes to show that you should always keep an eye on them, however much you think you know them.

The fawns begin to arrive

The ducklings and goslings are all doing well. We have let two of the bigger ducklings go and the goslings are now starting to get some tail and wing feathers, but they are still a bit too young to be let out into the rest of the park so we are still moving them around on the grass and have even given them a miniature pond which they like to have a good wash in.
Outside in the park the Barnacle goslings are still with their parents and the ever protective Greylag, being looked after very well. However they do seem to get into some unusual places, as they can’t yet fly but one still managed to get behind some fencing the other day which it was too big to fit through. However we got it out and it ran back to some frantic parents.
The Snowy Owl is still sitting on three eggs. They are due to hatch any time now and we are checking them regularly to see if there’s any progress. Hopefully they will hatch, as she deserves a reward for so patiently sitting on them, whatever the weather!
Lots of the birds are starting to look a bit tatty as they are all moulting, a few of the ducks, Karulah and the Golden Pheasant are looking particularly miserable as they have lost a lot of their main feathers. But hopefully it won’t take too long for them to grow back and they can start cheering up again. Being the complete opposite are the Peacocks, which are in full display at the moment and trying to attract the attention of all of the Peahens (and pretty much anything else).
In the last week we have had some Fallow Deer fawns. We think we have three but it may be four. Because they are so well camouflaged they are very difficult to spot. The mums are all being excellent parents, feeding them when necessary and placing them at the bottoms of trees (which they blend in with very well) to keep them out of the way and let them rest. We saw one at the beginning of the week just after it had been born, (we must have missed the birth by about 5 minutes). It was very exciting and the mum did a good job of cleaning it off and protecting it from other nosey deer who wanted to see what was going on. Unfortunately we did lose a fawn the other day, there didn’t seem to be much wrong with it, but it could have possibly been a bit underdeveloped. The rest are all a few days old now though so hopefully they will all survive and continue to do well. We are still expecting about another four fawns and are looking forward to their arrivals. The cubs are all doing well. We have moved them into a different pen because they have been so destructive in the pen they are in - just digging and creating holes everywhere and generally making a mess. Because of Smalley’s previous accident we decided to move him first and check he could get in and out of the ponds ok before moving all of the other cubs into the pen. Smalley managed the ponds just fine, he is much stronger than he used to be! However this was the first time him and Biggy had ever been separated. They pined for each other whilst separated but it was only a short while before they were reunited, but it was very clear during this time to see the strong bond they have between them. Cinnamon and Leap weren’t so fussed about being separated or being reunited with the others and took it in their stride. However, a new pen meant they were quite wary about coming out and it has taken them a while to get used to it. Initially none of them would go in the water in this pen, but we knew how much they had all loved swimming around in their other pen, so on went the waders and within about 5 minutes Biggy jumped in the water with Smalley following right behind him. Now they love it and we have moved their slide in with them, which they still like to slide down, climb up and use for dive bombing each other.
In the last couple of days Leap has been really gaining confidence. It was a real effort to get her to come out as she was so shy but this week she has been coming out for her breakfast and tea when nobody is around and in the last couple of days she has been out in front of everyone, very keen for some food. Whilst it is a definite improvement to have her coming out and about; she is a bit stroppy with the keepers and other otters, but hopefully the more she comes out the more she will settle down.
The rest of the otters are all doing well but Tino and Tamarisk are starting to the occasional scuffle with each other for no apparent reason. Hopefully they will start calming down or we may have to separate them. We are starting to see more of Hilda at the moment as she is coming out more often at the feeds and staying out so people can see her, but still no signs of pregnancy, William is obviously being rather lazy!
That’s all for now, lets hope for a few sunny days, Sonia.

"Reliable" Goose fails at first hurdle.....

I wonder who coined that old adage 'never work with children or animals', they were obviously very perceptive whoever they were.

Our Goose Experiment, was well..........., I can only say it was a complete failure.
Our reliable Gander proved to be totally unreliable and wasn't interested in the goslings at all. We let him go the morning after we caught him and he didn't look back once, he just legged it to the nearest pond. It may be that he prefers to select his kidnap victims himself rather than have them forced upon him or it might be that he was confined overnight which upset him and put him off his usual habits. Anyway, the result is that we have still got the ducklings and goslings confined to a shed at night but they go out into a mobile ark during the day so that they have fresh grazing and get used to being outside. They are all very friendly and look great, so maybe we'll let them free soon.

We have lost several ducklings in the last few days, including a pair of European Shelduck which is very disappointing; I think we may have a pike in one our ponds and that it is responsible for our losses, but it might be a mink or some other predator.

On a brighter note our Snowy Owl is still sitting after nearly three weeks. She has shown great determination and hasn't moved however bad the weather has got. She is on three eggs which are due to hatch in ten days or so all being well.

The Fallow Deer are still pregnant with no fawns being born yet but the first births must be imminent so we are having a good look around each day. We are letting them out onto the lawns at night so that they have fresh grazing but they do leave their calling cards everywhere which creates a bit of cleaning up job. Nigel is starting to look more like the dominant buck that he is; his antlers are growing very quickly and he's got his self esteem back.

All the otters are fine but Hilda is still showing no signs of being pregnant and we haven't seen any activity that might suggest that she is.

The cubs are doing well. They have been in a destructive mood for a week now and break or attempt to break anything that they can get hold of. We have placed a childrens garden slide in one of their ponds to help them to gain confidence and learn the limits of their abilities. If they do fall off (or rather, when they fall off) they fall into the pond so its pretty safe for them. Smalley can only manage the first two steps but uses this vantage point to bomb his fellow cubs and dive into the water. Biggy and Cinnamon think its great, whizzing up and sliding down with great delight. Leap is still rather shy and we haven't seen her use it yet but maybe she does it at night or at other times when she isn't being watched.

That's all for now, lets hope for a little warmer weather in the next few days.

The Gander Experiment

These last two weeks have been extreme here in Cornwall; some beautiful long sunny days mixed with, well, last Friday for instance……a wet day but not too bad until about 3 o’clock when the rain became torrential. Two hours later we were two feet under water. I had to dig out the full waterproofs and wellingtons that I’d just stored away for the summer and get to work clearing and unclogging and generally keeping the water damage to a minimum. By 7pm the water had receded enough for me to decide it was safe to go home without much damage to property but lots of problems for the ground nesting birds and their youngsters. Several nests had been flooded, including our Snowy Owls who were nesting on the ground in a scrape. A number of ducklings also just seemed to disappear, presumably victims of the cold, wet weather. Hopefully the ducks and other birds will try again, our Snowy Owl hasn’t wasted any time at all and has already made a new (higher) scrape and laid two eggs; she doesn’t usually sit very well so it will be interesting to see how this affects her.

Our Chinese Fawn Gosling are three weeks old today and making good progress. I want to let them out of their hatching shed and pen area and into the grounds so that they can graze at will and have access to the ponds but the problem is that without a goose to look after them their chances of surviving are low. So we’ve hatched a plan (no pun intended) and it goes like this……

We have a Greylag Gander who loves babies. He loves them so much that he attaches himself to any duck or goose that has ducklings or goslings and tries to steal the babies. Don’t worry, he won’t harm them, in fact he usually does a great job of taking care of them. If we can link the gander up to our goslings they will stand a good chance of survival. This afternoon I managed to catch him and tonight he is in the shed with the goslings. Tomorrow morning we’ll try and decide whether they have bonded and if they have we’ll let them all out together, so fingers crossed for a good result. If they don’t bond them we haven’t lost anything and we’ll let the gander free.

Nigel (our Fallow buck) is less bashful now that his antlers are growing back; they are now about four inches long and covered in velvet. Soon they will start growing very fast and he will cheer up even more. His does are looking very rotund and we are expecting some fawns in the next couple of weeks or so- let’s hope it stays fairly dry.

To other matters…the otters are all fine, and the cubs in particular are still doing well.

Some of you may have seen Wednesday’s Western Morning News and Friday’s Times with our new national star Biggy having his tummy tickled (very cute).

Staying with the paper theme I’d like to thank Class 1 of Egloskerry Primary School for their excellent book and information sheets. Its really nice to see the children so interested in nature after their visit here a couple of weeks ago. All of their work is on display and they have even had time to give our young buck a name; he’s to be called Hansel because he’s handsome and lives in the woods. I don’t think any of us can argue with that!

Biggy to the Rescue (well almost)!

Smalley is doing quite well now. We had to move all of the otter cubs from their new sunny pen back to the old one a few weeks ago as Smalley had a little accident and fell in one of the ponds in the pen and was unable to get himself out. Biggy tried to be a hero and tried pulling him out of the pond with his mouth, just the way their older siblings would have done had they still been in the pen with the family. However Biggy was not yet strong enough or big enough to achieve this feat and one of the keepers came to the rescue. He was a bit shivery but once he was dried off he was absolutely fine. We then moved them all back to the pen they had been in originally and even though Smalley was ok we still all kept a close eye on him. Now they are all doing well and Smalley’s trip into the pond hasn’t seemed to scare him off the water and although he’s been a bit slower than the others he’s just this week started to swim. Even though Biggy and Smalley can swim perfectly well and started at quite a young age in the bath at home, they seemed to be a bit put off by the coldness here, but now the sun is shining and it’s starting to warm up they’ve taken to it really well. The other cubs are all doing ok as well, Cinnamon and Biggy continue to be the best of friends and love playing together and generally trying to cause as much mayhem as possible. Leap is still a bit shy but as she is so much younger than the others this is understandable. She likes the company of the others and doesn’t like being left on her own. But we think she is getting a bit braver as she will come out of her box of her own accord first thing in the morning and in the evening when no members of the public are around. It looks like the toad incident may be one of many attempts at trying to catch their own food as they recently caught a newt and Biggy in particular is quite adept at fishing for insects and grubs in the water. However whilst little squirmy things interest them they have shown that there are not quite so brave when it comes to slightly bigger animals with feathers. One of the ducklings managed to get into their pen the other day, bear in mind it was small enough it would fit quite comfortably into the palm of your hand and they all ran away from it! This is obviously one of the learning processes they have missed out on from not being in with their family and it is up to us to teach them that these things are ok.

All of the otters are doing well and have taken to sleeping a lot more as the weather gets warmer. However they will occasionally exert a bit of pressure on themselves and in two days Tino and Tamarisk caught themselves three moorhens, needless to say they weren’t interested in their lunch at all after that.

We have had a few ducklings hatch, several Mallards and some Muscovy ducklings, however these have gradually dwindled in numbers, probably due to the crows coming down and picking them off and we have also noticed several Moorhen chicks running around. The Barnacle geese appear to be sitting on eggs on the island. Last year they had five goslings so hopefully we will have some more this year. They are very protective parents and look after their young very well. We have also had an Indian runner duckling hatch from the incubator and to keep him company we caught up one of the mallard ducklings and both seem to get on very well. Today we have four Chinese goose eggs in the process of hatching and one that has already hatched, also out of the incubator. So, all in all things seem to be successful on the young bird front.

The young buck has improved in confidence a great deal and from just starting to take food out of the keepers hands it took him a couple of days and he is now taking food out of the publics hands and is not at all shy about coming forwards for it. He has also just started getting his first white spots on his coat, so he’s starting to blend in with the others a bit more. All of the deer are quite relaxed at the moment and many of them have been coming down to feed from peoples hands. Nigel is looking a little less sorry for himself and has two bumps rather like plant bulbs on his head where his antlers will start to grow back.

The tawny owlet hasn’t been seen in a while now so we are assuming it is fully fledged and has now left the nest.

Several people have now seen the young joeys in their pouches and a few people have even seen them coming out of the pouch for a few minutes and then getting back in.

We have also seen some very young muntjac fawns, definitely one and possibly two. One of them is very small and has been seen wandering around with its mum and was also seen suckling a few weeks ago.

What with all the young birds, deer and wallabies it is quite an exciting time at the moment!

Composed by Sonia (one of the keepers).

Toads rule ok!

Spring is trying hard to make itself known and although it is still very wet underfoot the sun certainly has a bit more heat in it than it has had of late and some of the ground is even drying up in places. Not good for those dabbling ducks but much better for the rest of us.

Our splendid Fallow Deer buck Nigel (we think he’ll be 15 later this year- a great age for this breed of animal) is looking a little sorry for himself in the last couple of days because both of his antlers have fallen off. This is completely natural and happens every spring. His scars will have healed up in the next ten days or so and after that the antlers will begin to grow again, but until then I think he’ll be a bit miserable. In complete contrast our young buck is very proud of the inch long pricks on the top of his head. He’s just nine months old and supremely confident. Until today he’s been coming down for a feed but avoiding actual contact with the keepers but this afternoon he took several handfuls of food directly from Mandy’s hand. A very cocky young buck indeed.

We have our first ducklings on the pond- two seen yesterday (but so far not today) -and lots of birds on eggs. Also, and even more exciting, a Tawny Owlet has been seen several times on a tree branch by the waterfall. He’s been seen at various times of the day by a number of visitors. The common factor seems to be that he likes to come out in the sun but isn’t straying far from his nest. He looks to be about four to six weeks old so he won’t be there for very much longer. Tawny Owls are fairly common down here but wage a constant battle for nest sites with jackdaws and crows. Two years ago we even had a pair of Tawny’s build their nest and fledge three chicks from a nest they built actually inside the Bengal Eagle Owl aviary.

The peacocks and guinea fowl are all looking great with their new plumage and they are spending a lot of time and effort on looking good and attracting partners.

The otters are all well and spring is getting under their skin too. They are spending a lot of time playing (and then sleeping) other than Hilda, who rather typically is keeping a low profile and is only glimpsed occasionally.

The cubs are all well. Smalley has made a slight but noticeable improvement in his movement. He can now get up one stair. Not much you might think, but considering what he was like a short while ago we are pleased as punch. He is still a bit of a worry to all of us but we are optimistic. Biggy is fine, pushy and very energetic. He can often be seen playing with Cinnamon and they continue to get on very well.

Leap has improved too; she has put on a lot of weight and is looking very healthy. She still has a nervous (or evil) temperament but can be quite bold at times. Cinnamon is more and more likeable and beautiful every day. She is in superb condition and her coat shines like it has just been polished.

Last week we decided to leave the British cubs at work in a pen overnight for the first time because they were getting to be a bit of a handful; moving furniture whenever they felt like it and completely taking over the vegetable rack and some of their favourite kitchen chairs. They were easy to move from home to work every day but it is in their interests to move them away from us as soon as practical. They coped very well and seem to be adapting to their new, cooler environment without much trouble.

They were joined on Monday night by Biggy and Smalley. We worried about Smalley being cold but when I went in and checked them yesterday morning he was at the centre of a lovely fluffy otter heap and was warm as toast so as long as he burrows his way into the centre of the group he should be fine.

Biggy and Smalley are rather older than the others (19 weeks compared to Cinnamon at 13 weeks and Leap at 10 weeks) but look quite small compared to their British cousins.

We have moved the cubs into a sunnier pen with an electric water pump and they can obviously hear it humming because they have been put off swimming in the ponds. Once they get used to it I’m sure they will enjoy their new home. However, they haven’t been put off exploring and this morning I was in with them when they discovered a toad. They caught it, chomped on it a bit, realised their mistake and spent the next ten minutes with expressions that reminded me of our kids eating limes. They couldn’t get rid of the taste quickly enough but after a good drink three of them went back to it and started licking it again! The toad had been still all along and I thought it was dead and it just lay there as the three otters licked and spat and licked and spat. After a while the otters decided that the toad wasn’t good to eat and left it alone and went to try to find something else to annoy. A few minutes later I saw the toad rapidly heading for cover; I think I could hear him laughing….

We're open!

Considering we had 19 weeks to prepare and so many people to help why did opening day come round so quickly and surprise us all so much? I’m not sure either but that’s what happened. However, we opened on Good Friday without any major hitches or glitches and only a few wet patches of paint. Most of us were quietly confident that we hadn’t forgotten anything too important and we were right.

It was a pretty quiet day though; the rest of the week has been too, the weather hasn’t been great and it is very early in the year so things will pick up soon.

The Wallabies have surprised us over the last few days, at first there was one joey, then Denis saw two and then this morning Sonia and I saw three! All still in there mothers pouches but all looking healthy (their faces did anyway) and one of them has quite peculiar large blond eyebrows; very becoming.

The Fallow Deer have been testing our patience by creating holes in their fencing that you’d think they couldn’t get through but they do because they end up in the wrong enclosures and can be awkward to put back. After a short while and some minor repairs all the deer were back where they should be but I am anticipating further escapes; I’m not sure why though because the grass isn’t greener on the other side of the fence.

The otters are all doing fine. Hilda has moved back in with William and has him under her thumb again, a position which seems to suit him just fine. The little Asian Short Clawed female is getting on very well and comes out with the Family all the time now and demands to be fed just like everyone else, she is very cute.

The four cubs (Biggy, Smalley, Cinnamon and Leap (we decided that the name Spotty wasn’t very becoming)) are still at home at night but go to work every day and if it isn’t too wet or cold they go into their own pen for a few hours. They have two ponds and a stream to explore and seem to like it if it’s not too cold. We have been encouraging them to search for shrimps and daphnia which mainly entails the keepers getting wet and muddy and the otters looking on waiting for the goodies. However, as a reward for our efforts Biggy has decided that the fresh food is so nice it’s worth him making the effort to catch his own and he joined me in the stream this morning. He was very enthusiastic as he sploshed and splashed around my hands and feet and at last caught one of his own. He had a very satisfied expression on his face as he chewed it up but then thought his work was done and started whining because he was wet and the day was cold. Into my jacket he went and settled down in there very quickly, nice and warm see and he knew it. He was very unwilling to come out too.

Cinnamon is doing fine; although she does have the occasional try at biting a keeper she is settling down well and is showing us her nicer side at times. She has romps with Biggy and is a bit of a thug in a sisterly way. She has allowed me to touch her once or twice in play but I am very wary of her temper and her speed.

Leap is still giving us some concern as she is small and doesn’t always eat as much or as often as the rest of the gang. She is becoming very slightly bolder though and sometimes forgets herself and tries to play with a person instead of an otter. She has lost her instant temper and is enjoying life a little more I think. Her wounds are healed. I was looking at pictures of her with a friend of mine the other day and he pointed out that a number of her white patches appear to be in pairs, as though they were scars from bites in earlier attacks. Who or what might have inflicted this damage will never be known for certain but we speculated that a bigger sibling or even her mother may have been responsible. Or of course she might just be an unlucky little otter and have been attacked by some other predator.

Smalley is the cute one of the bunch. He is playful, cuddly and always pleasant and good tempered. His walking is much the same and that is worrying but he is such a bright little thing that I can’t help but be optimistic for him. He has been being picked on by the others but is now sticking up for himself a bit and I even heard him growl at Cinnamon for rolling him over the other day and she left him alone for a while after that. Good boy Smalley!

Raining Otters

It never rains then it pours! So true here in Cornwall this week in more ways than one. Firstly, if you’ve seen the news or live nearby you’ll know it’s wet, wet, wet here at the moment and likely to stay that way for a few days. We’ve already lost one tree to the wind and with the worst of the weather still to come so its fingers crossed that we don’t suffer any further damage.
It’s also been raining otters; we haven’t had any wild otters brought to us for over a year and the last one was so ill that it unfortunately died after two days. However, late on Sunday 24th February we received a call that resulted in us collecting a small furry bundle from a town in Devon. The otter, about seven weeks old, was seen alone on a road earlier that evening by Cindy who had watched helplessly as the wheels of the car in front straddled the poor animal as it lay in the road. She stopped and picked up the frightened baby which, very unusually, offered no resistance at all. I’m sure that if Cindy hadn’t decided to help, the cub would have perished.
When we got the otter (who we have called Cinnamon) home it was obviously in shock and still very placid. I stayed up with it most of the first night and syringed milk into its mouth. It gradually seemed to take a little more interest in its surroundings and, by tea time the following day seemed to be a bit better but was still dehydrated and suffering from diarrhoea.
Cinnamon had noticed Biggy and Smalley across the kitchen but was too frightened to do anything about it so we decided to allow them to see each other but not have any contact with them for a while. Later that evening, after a good feed and play with the Asian cubs we introduced Cinnamon to them properly; Biggy was fine about it all, touching and sniffing the new arrival but not being aggressive at all. Smalley was another kettle of fish altogether, snorting, screaming and generally not happy but after a couple of hours they all settled down in a big bundle and went to sleep. When I checked them at 3am they hadn’t moved so I decided to leave them alone and let them bond rather than disturbing them for a feed.
Then it became easier to tell that Cinnamon was getting over things. How? Because it started to bite and bite very hard, very hard indeed! That’s why I wear thick gloves, I’ve decided I like my fingers and would like to keep them all; even with the gloves on the bites hurt and easily draw blood if it bites further up my arms where there isn’t such good protection.
So there we are, Cinnamon settling in nicely and we were just getting into a routine when on the following Friday we had another call which resulted in us looking after a very small, miserable and feisty otter cub. This one is not yet weaned and that, together with its size makes me think that this one is very young, probably five or six weeks old at most. It was a very bony otter cub with no spare flesh. Rather disturbingly it also had at least three bites on its back end and several large tics spread over its body. The bites were fresh so we cleaned them up but decided to let the tics alone and deal with them when they dropped off.
Do you remember I said that Cinnamon was placid at first? Well, no such luck with this one who makes up for in ferocity what it lacks in size. The cub, which has an unusual dappled pelt (which is why it’s called Spotty), is hard to feed. It’s very particular about its milk and rarely attempts to eat any solids. We have got the milk just about right now, but solids are a different thing. It will only take solids that are literally put under its nose, usually in my hand or if it gets near enough to one of the others it will steal theirs. The otters don’t seem to worry too much about the theft, after all there’s a good supply of food nearby, but I do because it won’t take food off the glove, it has to be my bare skin or nothing! Is it any wonder that I’m going grey?
So now we have otter opposites; in one corner Biggy and Smalley (cute, cuddly and love to play with you) and in the other Cinnamon and Spotty (Atilla the Hun/Boudicca personality traits, but not so forgiving). Ah well maybe they’ll calm down soon, if they don’t Ill have to learn to type with bandaged fingers. For now they all seem happy with each other and usually snuggle up together, very cute.
That’s all for now, John.

Work, work, work . . .

Well time is getting on and most of those jobs that we were sure we'd have done by now are still unfinished and some not even started yet! So much for a carefully thought out winter maintenance plan.
One job that is largely completed is our woodland tidying; much of the woodland hasn't been touched for years so there's lots to do but most of this winters' work has been done thanks to a group of friends who came down for four days from the 15th February and sawed, clipped, pruned, felled, trimmed up, brushed down and polished (did they really polish??) an area of woods until it looked to be in fine fettle.
A special mention should be made to the boys (Rhys, Ed, Jamie, Jamesy and Andrew) who were very helpful between bouts of camp building, warring, camp destroying, rolling down hills on your side and frog catching - mind you there wasn't much time to work after doing all that!.
The girls (Frances and Lara) confined themselves to doing boyish things better than the boys, they were certainly dirtier and Frances' clothes are still being soaked 5 days later.
Very big thanks to the Reaveleys, Tresizes' and Browns.
Lots of other smaller jobs are nearing completion and if the weather stays goood we should get all of the important things done by the time we open on Good Friday. The last ten days or so of clear, dry weather has been good for all of the animals and it seems to have put some of them (especially the ducks) in the mood for love.
We've seen great interest in and around nest boxes as they are inspected by potential occupiers; the deer and wallabies seem to have an extra spring in their step too.
The otters are all fine; we still don't see very much of Hilda but from signs in the pen we know she is there. If she doesn't have any cubs she'll be going back in with William soon. The rest of the otters have all got smiles on their faces, they don't seem to mind the winter very much but I think they are detecting the slight rise in temperature and are enjoying it.
The Asian Otter cubs are 13 weeks old today (Sunday). The females (as yet unnamed but we are open to suggestions) are still very small, probably no larger than 400 to 500 grams. One of them is very active and surprised Denis at feeding time the other day by coming out and demanding her own food portion just like the others but the other one is rather retiring and scrawny looking. We took her out yesterday to check her for any obvious problems and she seemed strong and alert so maybe she is just a slow starter.
The boys, Biggy and Smalley, are still at home with us and generally doing well. Both weigh in at 1300 grams+ almost three times their sisters weight! They are getting quite bold and are very inquisitive. They still swim at least three times a day (in tepid water, if its too cold they just get out!) and we were taking them to work every day so that they could have some freedom in a secure pen however, Smalley has developed a worrying problem with at least one of his legs which means he is having some difficulty getting around unless he is swimming, when he appears fine. He's been to the vet and is on a course of treatment so we'll see how he gets on.
That's all for now, John.

The Return of the Fox

Well, from the title you've probably guessed that the fox has been back; on Tuesday morning we arrived at work and saw a bunch of peacock tail feathers on the path next to a fence. We did a brief search and about 20 metres away was the half eaten body of the peacock, a superb bird with his courting plumage almost completely grown. All of our peacocks can fly and generally roost high in the trees before coming to earth for their breakfast at around 8am. I wonder if the fox knew that too and was waiting for him when he landed.

He hadn't been dead for very long and I suspect that as we drove into the car park we had probably scared the fox away.

It was obviously time for a security review to find out where the fox was getting in but with well over a mile of ring fencing to check that was easier said than done. There are three parts to our ring fence, a 2 to 2.5 metre tall deer proof fence, inside that a 1.2 metre tall vermin fence and a three strand electric fence outside them both to deter climbers.

It took four people five days to check and repair! That's an awful lot of time to keep out just one fox and the worry is that he will find another way in sometime in the future.

The Golden Pheasant has been in the wars, he turned up this morning and was bleeding from his right foot. Because he's so friendly he was easy to catch and examine; he'd lost the tip of the claw on his middle toe somehow and it was bleeding freely. A quick bit of avian first aid was given and we'll keep him in the barn over the weekend to make sure he's recovering; as for how he'd done this we couldn't fathom but he does get himself into quite a few pickles because he's so nosey.

We have two Fallow Deer bucks here. The elder statesman, 15 years old in June, is Nigel, a splendid, friendly old boy who rules the roost and keeps the herd in order. He must also be one of the oldest Fallow on record and we have to keep an eye on him to make sure he eats properly because his teeth must be well worn by now. We also have a young pricket who is only 8 months old and starting to get quiet confident around the keepers. If two doe's are being hand fed he will often squeeze between them and pick up whatever they drop, not bold enough on his own but progressing nicely.

The British Otters are all fine and Hilda has disappeared into her holt for the last few days. We know she's in there but she has become very secretive. The last time she did that we thought she was pregnant but in the event she wasn't. It is possible that she is pregnant or has given birth but we've decided not to disturb her for the time being and see what develops. It may be that she is just missing her partner William, who we moved out a few days ago.

The Asian Otters are all fine too but Zephyr does look tired. She has developed a squint and looks her age (12 Years) but that might be because of the pressures of motherhood. The two female cubs with the Family are doing fine. They are still quite small but taking part in Family activity several times a day. As we approach them we hear them squeak and one of the others, usually Tilly comes and comforts them and then drags them to somewhere they don't want to go to but she thinks they should be. They all forget about us as we look on and a battle of wills begins which Tilly always wins because she's much bigger and stronger than them. We have seen the cubs in the pond but I don't think they are swimming just yet - would you want to swim in a pond in February??

The male cubs (we can't think of suitable names for them but are calling them Biggy and Smalley for the moment) are getting big too. They've been moved out of their crate in the utility room to a large cage in the kitchen which they seem to like; they roam free whenever we're at home and can now climb the vegetable rack, raid unguarded cupboards and sneak from room to room like two little brown commando's. And don't leave any buckets, mops or bowls of water anywhere that they can find because that is a shortcut to an otter flood; at least the culprits are easy to find because they leave a water trail wherever they go.

Their routine is well established and they know when its bath time or cuddle time and make different noises if they want to let you know that they want something. They get very excited at bath time and its fair to say that they are "mad for it". Both are now accomplished swimmers and divers but you'd better make sure that water's warm enough because if it isn't they'll let you know by trying to jump straight out. They will come when called and are particularly responsive to Mandy, making a bee line for her and jumping into her arms for reassurance if something gives them a scare and sometimes just for a cuddle if they are tired, especially Biggy - the big softee!

The Return of the Golden Pheasant.

The Golden Pheasant was seen on Thursday afternoon on the wrong side of the fence down by the river, by Friday morning he was at the main entrance gate waiting to be let back in! He is in fine shape so obviously fancied a change of scenery for a few days; we were all really pleased to have him safely back with us.

We are pleased to report that the fox has not made a return visit to date and there are no signs of him having been in again.

Now for the cubs update, the two females on site are looking healthy and active and have been seen outside wandering around the pen under strict supervision from the rest of their family. The family are taking in food when we feed them so they are being weaned which will take some of the pressure off mum. Zephr is looking in good condition so we are pleased with the way things are progressing at the moment.
The boys meanwhile are also doing really well, putting on weight, eating well and becoming much more active and agile. Last Friday they decided they did not like the white fish we were giving them, they sniffed it, put in their mouths and then spat it back out again. They ate the raw mince with relish, we decided to try a piece of rainbow trout which they wolfed down so they were just being fussy! Obviously we cannot have them being this fussy when the long term plan is for them to return to the park where their diet will include a variety of fish and chicks. John sat up with them for a hour and a half that evening and offered them nothing but their milk and the white fish. They eventually gave in and now have a mixture of the mince and fish and eat all the mince and about three quarters of the fish!
They have also learnt to swim this week, they started out being a little timid in the water but they have three swims a day and with each one they became more confident. They now swim around with their heads under the water, play around together and seem to really enjoy themselves. This is really good news as we have heard of otters that have been hand reared being afraid of the water initially.
All the staff have been involved in feeding the cubs during the day, it is good for them to share the experience and for the cubs to get used to seeing different people.

At the park the maintenance is ongoing and the weeks flying by so quickly that we will never get everything done that we hoped to do during the winter months.

That's all for now, almost time for another feed and swim for the cubs!

Otter Keepers' Wife.

Cub update.

I apologise for not updating the blog earlier. The past week has flown by and we have been really busy both at work and home. We are pleased to tell you that the Asian Otter Cubs that we took away from the parents are doing extremely well, they have put on almost 100 grammes each and have been weaned onto solids now. They are given a small amount of raw fish and raw mince at feeding time during the day but not at the 4am feed. We have had to move them into a higher bedding box as they were attempting to climb out of the of the one they were in.
They are extremely playful when they come out for feeds and enjoy exploring the kitchen and playing with the balls we have got for them. Then they end up wrestling with each other before being returned to their box and falling to sleep again! They are fed every 4 or 5 hours now, they usually feed in about 10 minutes now compared to 40 when we first got them but it still takes over an hour as we groom them and play with them. Their coats are getting coarser and their teeth are coming through too at a very fast rate. This morning we introduced them to water as they were becoming a little smelly, we filled the sink with tepid water and put them in, they did not panic and were curious about the dripping tap!
We are also pleased to report that the two females that stayed with their parents have been doing well too. They have been introduced to life outside their box by being dragged out by one of their parents being dipped into the cold pond and mud before being taken back inside!

We have had an unwelcome visitor on site, we spotted a large dog fox by the marsh lake yesterday, he soon made off but had helped himself to at least one of our ducks. We then had to try and find out where he got in, we found a small hole which we have blocked and there was no sign of him today. we heard today that several of our neighbours in the village have lost ducks and chickens through a fox. We were given a brown Chinese Goose today from someone in the village as the rest of his stock had been taken by the fox.

We have been busy repairing Sunny and Thors' (Asian Short Clawed Otters) pen, and dredging their pond. We have also noticed that our Golden Pheasant has not been around since Sunday, he is a real character and comes to greet you in the morning and follows you around as you work, often attempting to follow you into the otter pens when we are feeding and sitting on the wheelbarrow and even jumping onto the piece of wood you are sawing! We are concerned that he has been a victim of the fox but have found no evidence to confirm this yet.
He can be a bit of a nuisance at times but we have really missed him not being around.
We will keep you posted with developments, signed,

The Otter Keepers Wife

Cub News

For those of you who have been here before you may know that we were concerned about our Asian Short Clawed Otter cubs.

On Monday 7th January 2008 we again weighed them and were really disappointed when none of then showed any weight gain at all. That indicated that Zephyr was probably unable to produce enough milk to support all of her babies.

We had prepared ourselves for this and had previously agreed that if Zephyr wasn't able to supply enough milk we would take out two of the larger cubs, the two males, and attempt to hand rear them. This would leave Zephyr to feed the two, smaller, female cubs - thus reducing the strain on her and hopefully giving all of the cubs a fighting chance.

We had taken our mobile incubator (large plastic ice cream tub, hot water bottle, straw and lid) with us and removed the cubs as soon as the weighing was completed. More about the boys later.

The remainder of the Family didn't seem too concerned until they had finished their breakfast, but then they noticed that two of their cubs were missing. It was a little upsetting to watch them search and call for them but I was sure we were doing the right thing. They searched for the boys for some time; all day on and off, but eventually seemed to realise that they had gone.

We have checked to see how the two female cubs with the Family are doing and up to yesterday (Thursday) they looked very good. We haven't checked today because of the awful weather, but there's no reason to think that there are any problems at present. The Family have settled back down and will hopefully take good care of their youngest members.

The Boys..

As soon as we got the boys into their ice cream tub (which was very snug with the straw and hot water bottle) we put them into the van and took them home.

Their first day here was very quiet as we managed the change over from their mothers' milk to the replacement and gave them a chance to get used to the new sounds and smells of our utility room and kitchen.

They were fed by syringe every three hours (which is actually every two hours because it was taking almost an hour to feed them!) and then allowed to sleep under a heat lamp. This is an important time because a change of diet at this stage in their lives can induce diarrhoea which is a serious condition for any small (or large) animal. The first two days went very well, their appetities increased and so, gradually, did their weight. They weren't very active at first but were gaining confidence and starting to explore their new environment.

Wednesday went so well that we decided to risk moving them on from the syringe to a lambs' bottle. After a little bit of difficulty they both got the hang of it and feeding times went down and quantities went up. Marvellous, you'd think.....

Then on Thursday afternoon a small amount of diarrhoea was seen on the small cub, and he was soon followed by his brother. By Friday both were slightly worse and we decided it was time for a trip to the Vet.

It's Friday evening now and while it's safe to say that neither of the boys actually like their medicine they are taking it. Their feeding isn't bad and they are both still inquisitive and active; wrestling and nibbling being high on the agenda (although not as high as sleep). Fingers crossed for a good recovery.

The Weigh In.

The Asian Short Clawed Cubs were 5 weeks old on Sunday (30th December) and we thought that it was time to weigh them to see what the differences in their weights actually were. We all look in on the Family and they are very used to our daily visits and don't usually pay us much attention when we feed them and look in on the cubs. In addition I have also been handling the cubs regularly so that we can examine them without causing any stress to the animals. However, we always have to be careful to treat the group with respect and to take nothing for granted.

So at about 9.15 on Sunday morning Mandy and I walked up to the Family pen and prepared to enter; they were unusually noisy and agitated and when Mandy threw in the first course of their breakfast they completely ignored it. Very odd behaviour for this lot! We talked to them and offered more food but they still weren't interested one little bit. These animals can be very vicious when roused and have a powerful bite so we decided to complete our morning rounds and to go back to them half an hour later to see if they had calmed down.

When we returned their mood hadn't changed one iota. Their food lay where it had fallen and they were still riled and upset. We wondered if one of the cubs had died or whether another animal, such as a mink or stoat, had got into the holt while the family had been away from it and attacked the cubs. We decided on the broom test - put a broom into the pen and see what their reaction was; well it was a conclusive if not very scientific result. The broom lost after being seriously assaulted by the Family! Something was very wrong and it was certainly too dangerous to go in with them but what was up?

Mandy and I discussed the situation and as we talked we noticed just how much dirty straw there was in their pen, could it be that simple? A couple of minutes later we returned with a wheelbarrow full of fresh straw and threw some of it to them. Well, what a response! Six very stressed otters transformed themselves into a team of very industrious movers, shifters and cleaners. The straw was taken into the holt and their mood changed so quickly that within two or three minutes I was in the pen with them and looking in on the cubs as normal. All four snuggled together in the bottom of a very bare holt sleeping soundly. And there lies the key to their annoyance - no clean straw! They'd obviously decided on a really major spring clean sometime earlier that morning but didn't have anything to replace the dirty straw. They don't usually replace all the straw in one go but prefer to take a little out every day and we provide a replacement.

Panic over we decided not to weigh the cubs that morning but on January 3rd we took them out of their holt and weighed them on a set of portable scales at the side of the pen. The Family could see what we were up to with their precious offspring but weren't agitated at all. In two or three minutes it was all over - two males (400 and 440 grammes) and two females (about 300 grammes (wriggling) and 340 grammes). The differences are still a worry but that's for another day. They were all replaced just where I found them and only one of them (the wriggler) was woken up by our activity. Very cute!

I don't think my mum ever got that concerned about spring cleaning, then again we didn't all share the same bed.......