We are excited to share our new collaboration with the UK Wild Otter Trust. A proportion of the proceeds made from the sale of our otter swimsuit will go towards helping the rescue and rehabilitation of Eurasian Otter cubs from around the UK.

The UK Wild Otter Trust is a charity ran by dedicated volunteers who rescue and rehabilitate otter cubs for release back into the wild. The specialist centre sits on a 2 acre site in North Devon and consists of a cub hospital, treatment room, 2 cub rooms and 19 enclosures. It currently takes in 20+ otters every year and costs approximately £3000 to rehabilitate each cub relying entirely on donations.

Otter cubs stay with their mothers for 12-18 months in the wild and so the whole rehabilitation process, which replicates their mothers natural behaviour and care, takes about year to complete. During the process, each otter cub is taught to hunt, swim, play, fight and how to be a wild otter. It's a hands-off process to ensure the cubs do not get humanised or imprinted. They are closely monitored for positive behavioural signs that show they are ready for release and once the trust is satisfied that the otters are ready they use tried and tested release methods.

"Krisi’s Journey Back Into The Wild: We rescued Krisi on December 30th 2021. She was found crying on a River Kennet in near Marlborough. The river was in flood so she was a high risk case. She was a tiny little cub, but was strong. Her rehabilitation went swimmingly, she went from strength to strength throughout 2022. She started showing signs of being ready to be released back into the wild. We found a perfect wild area for her to be released into, where there’s a clean river, plenty of cover and of course lots of fish for her to eat. So, on the 31st of August we released her back into the wild. It took 45 minutes to catch a stubborn Krisi up for transport to her new home. But once we arrived she went to exploring her new home quickly. As we do with all releases we post monitored her using a camera trap to make sure that she is settling into being a wild otter well. We are happy to report that she is doing amazing and is once again a wild otter." - UK Wild Otter Trust.

Images + references: c/o UK Wild Otter Trust