Otter cubs rescued after sheltering in car engine

Two baby otter cubs have been rescued after they were found huddling for warmth in a car engine in North Ayrshire.

Residents in the town of Skelmorlie grew concerned after spotting the tiny animals around the area several times on Friday.

Eventually the tired and cold cubs - both girls and believed to only be about nine or 10 weeks old - were taken in for the night by local woman Karen Watson, who kept them in a cardboard box in her bathtub.

Animal experts said that if the otters - who have since been named Valentine and Juliet - had been left to fend for themselves much longer, they likely would have died. Instead they are now recovering with the SSPCA charity.

Karen told BBC Scotland News that although she ended up looking after the duo for the night, it had been a team effort to try and keep them safe.

She said: "There was a lot of chat on Facebook groups about them - my neighbour posted a video of them in the garden that morning. Initially it was really exciting as we're quite a way from the shore.

"They'd been spotted quite a few times during the day, but at night my cousin Jordan and his girlfriend found them out on the road. They were lying there, pretty helpless. They seemed stuck in a car engine bay.

"I went over and there were quite a few people there at that point. They were trying to coax them out the car but they had hunkered down and were trying to sleep."

They tried to contact animal recuse services however they were closed, so someone phoned the police.

"They said if the otters were in immediate danger to try and help them," Karen added.

Eventually the group managed to get the animals out of the car, and Karen offered to look after them for the night.

She said the duo were so helpless by this point that they did not even try to move when being lifted out and placed in a cardboard box.

Karen was then left trying to work out how to look after the cubs, while frantically searching online for information on the otters.

She added: "I didn't really know what to do for food or drink, although I could tell they were still weaning.

"They were so tired, just sleeping - we knew they'd been about the village for at least 14 hours so it was no surprise they seemed shattered."

Karen said the cubs seemed to feel safe within the small box, which was then placed in her bathtub.

She then added some water for them to drink, and towels on the outside in case they managed to climb out the box.

"I had a mostly sleepless night listening at the door for them, as I didn't want to keep going in to check on them, turn the light on and wake them up.

"I could hear them making little noises at times, but apparently that's comforting noises they sometimes make when sleeping. They were so cute."

In the morning, Karen was able to contact the UK Otter Trust based in Devon.

They provided her with advice on what the otters should eat, so she went shopping and returned with salmon and trout to try and feed them.

"I only had tuna in the house, so me and my sister went to get food they'd eat, and we were told how to prepare it as they would be starving at this point.

"We prepared it but they didn't eat as they're still too young," she said.

By this point Karen's neighbour Kenny Stewart had reached the SSPCA, who said they could take the duo to their centre in Fishcross in Clackmannanshire later that morning.

"When the SSPCA took them away we did feel a bit sad," Karen said.

"But we are a big community here and everyone here loves nature, so we all worked as a team to help them.

"It was a real group of us. I was just lucky enough to get the nice job of babysitting!"

Dave Webb, of the UK Wild Otter Trust, told BBC Scotland News that the animals condition meant they could not have been left to fend for themselves.

They would likely have been killed by other animals, like foxes, if the Skelmorlie residents had not stepped in.

He added: "They 100% did all the right things. I know there were comments online saying to leave them, but if the cubs are in a life-threatening situation - which they were - then you have to help them."

And Karen is hopeful that Valentine and Juliet could return to Skelmorlie at some point, as the SSPCA might relocate them back to the area when healthy.