A EURASIAN otter cub weighing less than a bag of sugar has been rescued on Anglesey, and is now thriving under the care of the experts.

The cub, named Menai after the Anglesey bridge, was tragically orphaned and left to fend for himself after his mother was killed in traffic.

Volunteers estimate that Menai had been alone for at least six days, as he was frail and dehydrated.

Sadly, rangers had found the cub’s mum deceased, and about a week after rescuing Menai, they located his sister.

But it was too late for the team at the UK Wild Otter Trust to save her, as she’d been alone without her mother for more than 12 days by the time they found her.

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Dave Webb, founder and chief executive of the UK Wild Otter Trust, said: “Luckily, we were alerted to this otter when we were, as he was really in a bad way when our volunteers got to him.

“An otter cub of that age absolutely relies on the care of its mother, so the fact that he survived so long without her is really quite miraculous.

“It’s thanks to the member of the public who let us know about Menai, that he’s thriving today under our care, and will - all being well - be released back into the wild in around a year when he’s old enough to survive on his own.

“We’d like to send a massive thanks to the kind person who alerted us to this cub and played an invaluable part in saving his life.

“We’re just absolutely gutted we didn’t find Menai’s sister in time to save her too.”

Otters, which had been largely absent from Anglesey for much of the 20th century, have been making a comeback in roughly the last 40 years.

But an increase in traffic is one of the main threats to the restored population, along with flooding, land development, and pollution.

Dave added: “Last year we launched our ‘Slow Down for Otters’ campaign because, just like in the case of little Menai and his sibling, we’re seeing so many cubs orphaned due to traffic.

“Luckily, we found Menai in time, but due to a driver not seeing Menai’s mum on the road, there are now two dead otters and one needing rehabilitation for the next year as he wouldn’t survive in the wild by himself.

“A speed as low as 20mph is still fast enough to kill an otter if you’re unlucky enough to hit it.

“We want to raise awareness with the public that there are otters around and to be aware of the habitat you’re driving through, particularly along or across rivers.

“It’s not just otters, but other wildlife too, such as deer, rabbits, badgers and foxes.”