Cornwall wildlife sanctuary welcomes four otter pups

A wildlife sanctuary in Cornwall has welcomed four otter pups. 

The pups, three females and one male, are the offspring of Pippin and Katarni, Asian otters who arrived at Paradise Park in Hayle, in April. 

Becky Waite, a keeper at the wildlife sanctuary, said all four pups have now been checked by the vet and are doing “very well”. 

She added: “Mum is starting to teach them to swim so visitors will increasingly see them out and about playing in the pool more over the next few weeks.” 

Mum Pippin joined the wildlife park from Woburn Safari Park, in Bedfordshire, while Dad Katarani came from Tilgate Park in West Suffolk. 

Paradise Park said the couple were gathering grass and straw to make a home in the holt where they live almost immediately after they arrived.

Asian otters are the smallest of the otter species and are classed as vulnerable in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 

Communicating in little squeals, they are very playful and can often be seen rolling around with a pebble or digging around a rock according to keepers at the park.

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