Otter cubs returned to Barnstaple enclosures after being driven away by floods

Tolga is the only otter at the animal shelter in North Devon that staff believe is unable to be rehabilitated back into the wild

A group of otters have returned to their homes at an animal shelter in North Devon after being forced to leave due to flooding.

The eight animals were living in their enclosures in January when staff at the UK Wild Otter Trust in Barnstaple became concerned due to heavy downpours.

Despite being aquatic mammals, sudden floods caused by the rain then began to threaten the safety of some of the site's 20 otters.

Dave Webb, the founder of the shelter, said: "We could see the water rising by the hour, so we made the decision once it hit a certain level [that] we were going to get eight or nine of them moved.

"We then had a work party in the following day and the enclosure is now back into a working state, with adjustments to allow for water rising again," he added.

But the eight cubs have now returned home where staff are focussing on rehabilitating them, so they can be released back into the wild.

Last month saw the UK Wild Otter Trust site in Barnstaple become flooded, meaning staff had to rescue the animals from their shelters

Each otter is expected take around a year to make a full recovery and the charity's ethos is that human interaction should be limited to allow the creatures to have the best chance of being able to return to nature.

When each otter cub weighs two kilos, they will be moved from an inside pen to an enclosure outside, where interaction with Dave and other staff will become completely hands off.

It's all to prevent more otters from becoming like Tolga, one resident at the site that has become too familiar with humans and now is unlikely to ever be released back into the wild.

The otter cubs can be brought to live in a shelter outside after they have gained weight

Speaking about working with the animals, Dave said: "You never stop learning. I always say there's no such thing as an expert in the otter world, and there isn't, because I can come out here everyday, four times a day, and every time I come out, I will learn something new."

Dave's charity also works to highlight some of the myths and facts around the impact that otters can have on fish stocks, and it works with anglers to achieve this.

His advice for those who happen to come across an otter in North Devon is that if a cub seems distressed, then it should be given some space, while dogs should be kept on a lead.