Baby otter feeding after being found 'dead' roadside

This orphaned otter cub was found at the side of a road in Pembrokeshire.

A member of public found him near a village called Star at Llanfyrnach, and thought he was dead but on closer inspection saw him breathing. She took him home and placed him in a box wrapped up in towels on the floor that had underfloor heating.

RSPCA animal collection officer Ellie West said when she arrived the eight week old otter was cold and extremely weak and wet from the bad weather the night before.

Ellie said he was in such a bad way she didn’t expect him to survive - but luckily his condition started to improve, “After a few hours he was much warmer and comfortable and he actually suckled rehydration fluids from a syringe with a teat readily,” she said.

Ellie, who named the cub Star, said he will now continue his recovery at West Hatch before being sent to a specialist facility for otter cubs where he will remain until he is old enough to fend for himself in the wild.