Otter cubs rescued after fallen tree exposes den

The rescuer saw the otters' mother leave the holt and she had not returned the next day

Three otter cubs were found after a tree fell in parkland in Warwickshire and exposed their hidden den.

Art gallery and park Compton Verney said it contacted the UK Wild Otter Trust charity, which rescued the five-week-old otters.

It added the volunteer who came via the charity would now hand feed them for a few weeks, before they go to a rehabilitation centre in Devon for a number of months.

Dave Webb from the trust said the rescuers "saw the mother leave the holt" and she had not returned by the next day. "So it left the cubs very exposed," he said.

Mr Webb added the rescuers had done "absolutely the right thing" in rescuing the animals as they were in immediate danger.

He added the mother may have been "spooked" by the tree falling.

The cubs, who are still vulnerable, are being cared for by the trust.

Compton Verney said it was hoping they would return and it could release them, when they were old enough, at the same site where they were born.

The tree fell on the parkland "quite suddenly in this weather as we've been having", before opening hours on Thursday.

Compton Verney landscape manager Fiona Tansey said the tree was being checked for the safety of visitors and a "little noise" was heard.

'Nice and warm'

She added "three little baby otters that had been underneath the tree" were discovered.

Ms Tansey said it was thought the only thing to do was take them "into our security where they were nice and warm" and the otter charity was contacted.

"They had a volunteer out to us within two hours, which was absolutely great for us, because we were a bit worried that we couldn't look after these little pups.

"Obviously they're so small. They still need hand feeding."

The otters are currently still in Warwickshire.

Otters have been present at Compton Verney since 2020, but this is the first confirmed breeding on site.

Asked what the discovery on Thursday told people about the grounds, Ms Tansey said: "I think it tells us that we're secluded enough for the otters to be happy enough to breed there.

"I think it also tells us that the water...is pretty clean. It's clean enough for the otters to build a home there and to start a family."