Two baby otters found alone in a field in England are said to be doing well after being taken to a rescue center. "Barely able to crawl" when spotted by a member of the public, the pair—thought to have lost their mother in a flood—will remain at South Essex Wildlife Hospital for up to a year: "Then we will try to find a good bit of river for them to be released into," said Sue Schwar, who founded and has operated the hospital for 38 years.
The BBC reports that the as-yet-unnamed cubs were subdued, hypothermic and suffering a parasitic illness when veterinarians first saw them on February 12.
Staff said they were initially treated with gentle warming and fluid therapy to restore their hydration and they quickly perked up. Within hours, they were already taking food well.
Here they are snuggling:
Otters had almost disappeared from England by the 1970s (and were reportedly extinct in Essex by 1986) but their numbers have since recovered. Here's a BBC Earth segment about the semi-aquatic mammal's improved fortunes.
Everyone thinks they know what an otter looks like but a large number of sightings turn out to be North American mink.
Here's another video about otters in Sussex, near where I grew up. I was there for six years in the late 1980s and don't remember seeing a single one.
