Well, she has done it again! Thistle, one of our female otters, gave birth yesterday to what we believe are 3 healthy young otter cubs. If you look closely you can see all three in the photo above. Sterling and Thistle had our first successful litter of otter cubs last year in May. Many of you have been saying to me that it was a shame that they did not produce this year, but as I told those that asked, otters can give birth anytime of year and do not have a set season. In fact most of the adult otters we have here were born in late Autumn!
Did not want to disturb them for obvious reasons so just took a couple of record shots for the keeps. Have a look below.
This is the first time that our otters have used our new observation holt to give birth in, and so we are very happy.
But... before you all come rushing down to see the youngsters in there, i will be putting a barrier in place to stop access to the holt for the public. Sorry, but I want the mother and cubs undisturbed for the first few weeks while they settle in and grow. Maybe in a months time or so I will start to allow the visitors back in.
Fabulous news!
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