Unfortunately, this young cub had a tragic start to his life. Menai was found in Anglesey by a member of the public after being orphaned. Rangers found his mother deceased, after she was killed in traffic. We estimate that Menai had been alone for at least 6 days before being rescued, as he was frail and dehydrated.
About a week after Menai was rescued, rangers found his sister; she was alive but extremely weak. We estimate she had been alone for at least 12 days. Our experienced volunteers did everything they could but unfortunately she had to be put to sleep two days later.
Our Founder and CEO, Dave Webb said: “Luckily, we were alerted to this otter when we were, as he was really in a bad way when our volunteers got to him. An otter cub of that age absolutely relies on the care of its mother, so the fact that he survived so long without her is really quite miraculous. It’s thanks to the member of the public who let us know about Menai, that he’s thriving today under our care, and will – all being well – be released back into the wild in around a year when he’s old enough to survive on his own. We’d like to send a massive thanks to the kind person who alerted us to this cub and played an invaluable part in saving his life. We’re just absolutely gutted we didn’t find Menai’s sister in time to save her too.”
Menai is thankfully thriving at our Specialist Otter Rehabilitation Centre and on Sunday weighed in at 1.35kg.
Along with flooding and pollution, collisions with vehicles are one of the main threats to otters in the UK. Earlier this year we launched our ‘Slow Down for Otters’ campaign because just like in the case of little Menai and his sibling, we’re seeing so many cubs orphaned due to traffic. A speed as low as 20mph is still fast enough to kill an otter if you’re unlucky enough to hit it. We want to raise awareness with the public that there are otters around and to be aware of the habitat you’re driving through, particularly along or across rivers.
Meet Menai
