Four orphaned otter babies found: Now they are to become a family

Haringsee - Employees of the Austrian animal welfare organization "Vier Pfoten" have their hands full. They want to unite four rescued otters into a gang. They were all found in different places and are now to spend their lives together.

Female otter Lilly had only just opened her eyes when she was found.
Female otter Lilly had only just opened her eyes when she was found.  © Vier Pfoten Österreich

The four otters Lilly, Milo, Motte and Fibs were brought to the owl and bird of prey station in Haringsee, where they are currently spending their time in pairs.

Female Lilly and male Fibs are the smallest of them. Lilly was found alone in the village of Jennersdorf at the end of September.

"She had just opened her eyes, so we estimate that she was about four weeks old at the time," explained Dr. Hans Frey, scientific director of the station.

Fibs was discovered near a pond in Kirchberg an der Wild and brought together with Lilly. Fortunately, the two get on well together.

Milo - who at around twelve weeks old is already a little older - was found next to his dead mother in Katsch in Styria. He currently forms a duo with otter girl Motte, who comes from an animal shelter in Freistadt.

"She made friends with Milo very quickly, they always cuddle together. They are already making their first trips to the small pool of water in their enclosure," reported Dr. Hans Frey.

The destination is the wilderness

The young otters spend most of their time either romping around playfully or sleeping soundly for hours on end. If the four can get used to each other, they will soon be given a large enclosure with ponds.

However, this is not to be the last stop on their journey, because according to the animal welfare organization, the aim is to release them back into the wild.

Human contact is avoided as much as possible, because: "Wild animals need wilderness", as it says in a post on Instagram.