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The snow has made life difficult for everyone but I’m very proud to say that all our animal carers turned for work and have worked hard in this freezing cold weather. There have been several rescues but sadly most of the animals coming in are so exhausted and with the added stress of being taken in to captivity, few have made it through the night.

Our ducklings that were hatched early last December have grown and are now feathered but a still enjoying a heat lamp to sit under at night. The Mallard drake that had been shot that was brought in on Boxing Day is now fully recovered as many other casualties, but we have to wait for the weather to improve before they can go home.

Our ducklings seen on the Alan Titchmarsh show have grown!

The Drake that had been shot is much better

The otters are eating twice as much food in this weather and it’s quite amazing to see them swimming under the ice in their pool. It makes you realise how tough it must be for the otters in the wild to find enough food to keep their energy levels up so that they keep warm and can hunt. I managed to get a picture of Hope in the snow with her supper – oblivious of the biting wind and snow!

There’s me thinking that the cubby hole would stay quiet for a while after Tiny Toni and Puddle moving out on New Year’s Day – another cub came in on Sunday and we’re back to bottle feeds. This one was found locally at Combwich. I’m not sure what sex it is. It’s very bitey so I just concentrate on getting him or her to take the bottle. I’m sure it will soon get used to the routine eventually!

Snowflake cuddled in a towel

Snowflake taking her bottle

Busy badger prints !

I can’t believe that it is so long since I have done a blog and apologies to anyone I have disappointed.  You probably remember that earlier this year our second Otter cub, Hope moved into the otter enclosure on her own as there was no other otter her age in care. It seemed so sad to see her out there on her own.

Hope on her own in the otter pen

4 months later another otter cub called Ozzy came to us having been found caught in a net in the Taunton area. He was fun to have around in the kitchen and once weaned I wanted to put him with Hope but we had to wait for an empty casualty pen with a camera that we could put the two otters together in an area that belonged to neither. Sadly is has been a difficult year to find release sites for our badger cubs so it was October before we were able to put them together. It really was time to get Ozzy out of the kitchen!

Ozzy soon learnt to take the plug during his bath!

Still very cute

But time he was outside !!

24/7 came and filmed the two cubs going together and we watched them over their first night to make sure there were no arguments. We also use the baby listening units so that if there had been any fighting we would have heard it. Any way all went well and it was Friday 30^th October when they finally were put back together in the otter pen. I have gone out each night to feed them trying to make sure that they both get a fair share of the food which is thrown over the fence to them.

I have been leaving the lights on over there so that I could watch them and I have glimpsed one or the other in the pool but never together. Then last night I spent most of the evening watching them play in the water. It was fabulous to see them chasing each other around and swimming together through the tunnels that we put in the pond for them to play with.

It will be another year before they will be ready for release but I’m so happy to know that they will each other for company, someone to play with and no doubt – someone to snuggle up to on those cold winter days. Hope and Ozzy have each other now !

Hope continues to do well

Hope has grown so much in the last few days. Still enjoying her bath – I don’t think I have seen an otter cub swim so confidently at such a young age. She quite happily swims under water from one end of the bath to the other. I leave her to it until I hear her jumping at the side of the bath which is the signal that she’s had enough! A quick towel dry and she then finishes it off squirming along the carpet. She’s loving the fresh troutlings.

Much colder today and heavy rain at times. Tikka, my cockatoo, is not impressed that I did not spend very much time in the office today. He always calls when he can hear me upstairs. He ‘ll be even less impressed tomorrow as I’m off to Reading to do a talk so he’ll have to rely on Lisa, who shares my office for conversation !

The little badger cub has had a pretty awful day. He was hardly alive this morning despite checking on him at 3 a.m. Continue reading Pauline’s Blog from 23rd March

My birthday today ! Lots of cards and kind wishes which has made it a lovely day. Don’t think the diet will be going too well in the next few weeks. Continue reading Happy Birthday to me (11/03/09)