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.
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