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This is rocket.
She's just arrived at the UK Wildlife
Trust rehabilitation center, where Dave
and his team will spend the next year
preparing her for a return to the wild.
Dave is the UK's only hotline for otters.
He has moved mountains
in the name of Otter Conservation
But an army of volunteers engaged communities
and developed the UK's only specialist
otter rehabilitation center,
prepared, willing and able to respond
to 365 days a year
to any otter in distress.
There's not much
Dave wouldn't do for otters.
Tucked away in a valley
in north Devon in rural England, the UK
Wildlife Trust has rehabilitated
and returned to the wild over 200 otters
since it began
in 1998.
The main challenge of raising otters
is to preserve their wild nature,
meaning human contact
needs to be kept to the absolute bare
minimum.
Tolga is one of the few permanent
residents of the rehab center
because he isn't afraid of humans.
he's considered tame.
Healthy otter
populations mean healthy waterways.
The otter
is an apex predator,
and its presence means a balanced food web.
They keep invasive species
like the signal crayfish in check
and the native populations healthy
through natural selection.
The sensitivity to water quality
and pollution means that the presence
of the Eurasian otter
is a good indicator of a healthy river
and ecosystem.
Dave's work is not just a matter of love
for preserving a species.
It plays a vital role
in the health of the UK's river systems.
Dave checks and weighs
the otters regularly to ensure
that they're healthy and growing normally.
Not only does Kath keep a careful
watch over Dave
and the otters from the control room.
She also plays a pivotal
role in the rehab program.
This is the end goal for Dave and Kath.
Spring brings the release
of the matured otters,
but not of the responsibility.
Dave's friend Adam might be.
Most mornings
he can be found on the banks.
Nine miles from the rehab center
observing the otters
in their natural habitat.
The long established adversaries of the otter,
are the angler and fishery owner
who believe that given half a chance
an otter would void a river of fish.
And for that reason,
a large part of Dave's work involves
building relationships with these groups
to help them mitigate the otter threat.
As well as removing problematic otters
Dave advises fisheries on
how to construct otter proof fences.
Dave’s not only an expert
at keeping otters out
but being the first organization
to be granted a humane
trapping license
for this heavily protected species.
He's quite good at catching rogue
ones, too.
Dave makes things happen.
Around
85% of all the deaths are caused by cars.
When the council couldn't help with signs.
Dave made his own and with permission
from a local pub, erected the next
to a dangerous stretch of road for otters.
Dave is the only hotline
for otters in distress.
He fields around 700 calls a year.
Yesterday evening,
he received a call that a young cub
had been found and taken
into a member of the public's home.
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