Ipswich: Otter pup rescued from supermarket delivery van engine

Tesco workers got a surprise after finding a special passenger inside one of their delivery vans on Tuesday

An otter pup has been rescued from the engine compartment of a supermarket delivery van.

RSPCA officers were called to a Tesco Extra supermarket at Copdock, Ipswich, on 11 October and took an hour to lure the young female free with food.

They said the animal was under attack from birds and had sought refuge in the undercarriage of the vehicle.

Inspector Caroline Richardson said: "This is my first otter rescue - and it was such a rewarding experience."

She said when she arrived, she didn't expect to see the otter's head poking out from inside the van.

"When I got the call I must admit I expected to find a ferret or a rat stuck in the engine - but when I reached in to get a better look there was the cutest little face staring back at me," she said.

"Despite her ordeal she was not injured - and she was quite curious - and it soon became apparent she was just a baby."

It took RSPCA Inspector Caroline Richardson an hour to lure the otter out from within the delivery van's engine

The charity revealed that another otter - thought to be a male sibling - was rescued the day before after finding its way into a plant hire firm on Scrivener Drive.

Ms Richardson said the animals - thought to be between three and four months old - were too young to be out of their den.

"Unfortunately something must have happened to mum or the den was disturbed," she said.

The two pups were reunited at South Essex Wildlife Hospital.

"Now they are in the care of a wildlife hospital, they stand the best chance of being rehabilitated and then returned back to the wild where they belong," the inspector added.

Otter cubs can stay in care for up to 12 months and are released at an age and size when they would naturally move off to find their own territory and way in life, the RSPCA said.

Sue Schwar, manager of South Essex Wildlife Hospital, said the pups were "very skinny" but were on a diet of trout and "eating well".

A Tesco spokesman said colleagues at the store were "surprised" to find the unexpected passenger in one of their delivery vans and wished both otter pups a speedy recovery.

"We'd like to thank the RSCPA for taking care of the otter pup and we're really happy she's been reunited with her sibling," he said.