Published: January 16, 2009
Young otter is in the safe hands of Burnham-On-Sea wildlife charity

Carers at a wildlife charity near Burnham-On-Sea are this week looking after their first otter of the year.

Secret World is caring for the young male, which was originally admitted to a vet in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

"The vets were keen for him to go somewhere with experience of caring for otters, so contacted us," Secret World spokesman Jamie Baker told Burnham-On-Sea.com.

Within half an hour, one of the charity's volunteers near Swansea set off to pick up the orphaned cub - which has since been named Afon, the Welsh translation for the word 'river'.

"They got him as far as the Severn crossing, at which point they passed him onto another couple of Secret World volunteers who brought him to the rescue centre," Secret World spokesman Jamie Baker told Burnham-On-Sea.com.

"There was some concern that one of his rear legs may have been broken, but during examination it was discovered that his lack of mobility was just due to his young age, which has been estimated to be around 6-7 weeks."

"Afon is now being hand-reared on Esbilac, a puppy milk formula, by one of Secret World's animal care team and he will be going home with his carer over the weekend to ensure that he is getting the necessary round-the-clock attention."

Burnham-On-Sea.com reported earlier this week how Secret World had said its fundraising had been hit hard by the credit crunch.