Man Finds Soaking-Wet Babies Huddled In A Box On The Roadside

Driving along a busy street in Shrewsbury, England, a man spotted an ordinary cardboard box on the roadside. Curious, he stopped to take a closer look — and was stunned by what he found inside.

Two tiny baby otters, shivering and drenched from the rain, were curled up together for warmth.

While abandoned puppies or kittens are sadly not unusual, finding otter cubs discarded in a box was shocking. Without hesitation, the man rushed the fragile siblings to safety.

The cubs were first taken to Cuan Wildlife Rescue, where staff quickly fed them, dried them off, and worked to stabilize their fragile little bodies. Both weighed under 5 pounds and were exhausted from their ordeal.

Once they were stable, the babies were transferred to the UK Wild Otter Trust (UKWOT) for long-term care.

“When the otter cubs arrived with us, they were quiet, obviously scared, and withdrawn,” said Hatty Brady, communications officer at UKWOT.

Rescuers were horrified that someone had abandoned the cubs in such a way. A note on the box had asked finders to call a rescue, but the otters could easily have been brought directly to a center — instead, their lives were put in serious danger.

“We were outraged that anyone could dump these two tiny and defenseless animals, who, without their mum and locked in a box, wouldn’t have survived much longer,” Brady said.

Thankfully, the cubs are now safe — and day by day, they’re beginning to recover.

“They’re still quite fearful now, but they’re heading in the right direction, and you can see their little personalities starting to come out,” Brady said.

@cuanwildlifeuk

OTTER CUBS! 🦦❤️ A very rare one for us! These two Otter cubs (Lutra lutra) were found dumped on the side of the road early morning of Wednesday 9th October 2024 close to Sleap (SY4). They were in a cage with a note on the top for someone to call us to rescue them. Luckily they were found by a local man who got them to safety so we were able to rush out to get them! It is unclear how long they had been out there, especially as the weather was awful that night. They were both underweight, lethargic and soaking wet! We got them settled in, warmed up and they started eating well. They have now been transferred to a special Otter rehab facility, the UK Wild Otters Trust, where they will continue to grow and be released again as sadly we do not have the facilities to keep Otters long term! ❤️ It is illegal to kill, injure or take Otters, as well as other animals, from the wild under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The condition these otters were found in also goes against many animal welfare laws too. Our local Rural Crimes officer has been made aware and an investigation is taking place. If you know anything about this, even if you drove past and can give a time when you saw them, please do not hesitate to give us/rural crimes a call. Please share. Thank you! BBC Shropshire Shropshire Star Shropshire What's On TelfordLive Shropshire Police Shropshire Wildlife Trust #otters #otter #ottercubs #ukmammals #mammal #britishmammals #mustelid #ruralcrime #shropshirecrime #ottercub #environment #britishwildlife #wildliferehab #wildlife #nature #wildliferehabilitation #wildlifecharity #saveourspecies #animals #conservation #wildlifeconservation #cuanwildlife #ukwildlife #shropshire

♬ Magic (Instrumental) – Jon Worthy

Having each other has made the transition easier. Growing side by side, the siblings will learn vital survival skills together before eventually returning to the wild.

“Being two of them, it makes it easier and more likely they’ll be successfully rehabilitated,” Brady explained. “They have each other to grow with and explore their natural otter instincts with.”

In about a year, once they’re strong and independent, the pair will be released back into their natural habitat — leaving behind the frightening start they endured.

To help support the care of these cubs and other rescues, consider donating to UK Wild Otter Trust or Cuan Wildlife Rescue.