The weeks have flown by again so time for an update. Tor is doing really well; we had initially tried to get him accepted by our other hand reared otters as we had not been able to find him a play mate elsewhere in the country and he needed to have an otter to socialise with. One of the keepers would take Tor into the pen and supervise the introductions; Biggy and Smalley are so accepting and inquisitive and tried to play with him almost straight away. Cinnamon and Leap just ignored him and kept their distance. After several days of Tor being taken into the pen with a keeper to supervise the introductions Leap decided he was not acceptable and attacked him just a warning but enough for us to know it was not going to work out.
Plan B then was to separate Biggy and Smalley from Cinnamon and Leap as this would have to be done in the near future and house Tor with Biggy and Smalley. Tor moved into the pen first and Biggy and Smalley came a little quicker than anticipated! John put the box into the pen for them to explore and get used to before we caught them up but they were straight in so they were moved there and then!!
They have all settled well and do not appear to miss each other which is good as they have all been together since such a young age. Cinnamon and Leap still share a box at night and by the second morning Tor, Biggy and Smalley were all sharing the same box at night too. Tor has grown in confidence over the weeks and now he comes out for the feeds and the three otters played really well together so mission accomplished!
On 27th August however we had another abandoned British Otter brought into us, Libby was very dehydrated, stressed, had an abscess on his hind leg and a badly damaged toe on his front left foot which meant he walked with a bad limp. On a good note his lab results came back clear which meant once he had been treated for the injuries and was feeding well he could mix with Biggy’s group. Libby was only about seven weeks old so still needed milk and was very aggressive towards the keepers so we wanted him to integrate with Biggy’s group as soon as possible. He is living in the pen with them now but is very reluctant to come out when the public are around but will sleep with the other otters. We hope that his confidence will continue to grow as time passes.
Harriet’s cub is nine weeks old now and has been spotted outside this week and even seen learning to swim with Harriet which is fantastic. Tamarisk is still kept firmly in his place but we hope as the weeks pass now he will be allowed to join in!
Carmen, Coady and Kernow are still thriving and have adapted well to not having Tino around, he went off site to take part in a breeding programme with one of our females, Jill in August.
William, Hilda and Pluto are a joy to watch when they are outside playing together. Pluto definitely takes after his Mother and is very vocal and pushy when it comes to food!
Our two young Bucks are getting more confident as the days pass and we are watching to see which one becomes the more dominant male. Little Dasher can still be seen around the centre and will stop to be made a fuss of and eat from your hand and has been spotted in the gift shop on several occasions last week!!
The weather has been delightful for September and our visitors are enjoying the warm weather. The leaves are starting to turn orange and brown, a sure sign that the open season is drawing to an end and that autumn is arriving.
