Little Hope was found squeaking and crying on a bale of hay after it appears she was abandoned by her mum.
A tiny otter pup has been rescued after being found abandoned in a garden on Shetland.
Staff from Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary were called to a home in South Whiteness on Saturday, August 30.
A local resident who initially found the baby otter decided to wait some time for her mother to return.
Adorable Hope was rescued in Shetland on Saturday(Image: Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary)
But hours later, they found the cub had made her way to an outhouse, where she was found curled up on top of a pile of hay. Wildlife experts attended and the otter, who is believed to be only three-weeks-old, was discovered making little squeaks – clearly missing her mum.
She was taken in by the sanctuary, where she has been receiving round-the-clock care.
Little Hope was discovered curled up in a garden(Image: Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary )
Manager Pete Bevington told the Record: “Unfortunately, it’s not unusual for otter mothers to abandon their cubs.
“If a mother has three cubs and she thinks she can only cope with two, then she’ll leave one behind.
“When we received the call, we didn’t hesitate to get down there because if they’re left too long without their mums, they struggle to survive.”
The young pup has been named as Hope and is currently being hand-reared by caretaker Lynn Young, who has been bottle feeding the tiny mammal round the clock.
Tiny Hope has been receiving round-the-clock care(Image: Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary )
Pete said: “It’s a bit like having a baby.
“Keeping an otter this age alive after she’s been abandoned by mum is a real challenge and demands a lot of attention.
“Lynn has been keeping a really close eye on Hope and has been feeding her pretty much every hour through the night.
“It was a struggle to get her weaned onto the bottle, but she eventually got there when she realised that’s where food comes from.
“Right now, Lynn is making sure Hope feels secure and the pup is really clinging onto her.
“We need to give her the sense of safety because of the trauma she has been through.
“The challenge, though, is not to let her imprint because otters can become attached to humans very easily.”
Hope will be kept in the sanctuary’s care for around nine months(Image: Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary)
The sanctuary will keep Hope in their care for the next nine months before rehabilitating her back into the wild.
Incredible footage shows the tiny pup snuggling into Lynn’s arms after being fed.
Pete said: “We’ll keep her for nine months and eventually transition her to the fish diet when she is ready.
“By that time, she will be incredibly strong and curious.
“We now have to go through a process where we keep the otter close like she’s our own baby, but we will have to break that connection before we release her into the wild.
“As soon as you give them a taste for fish, they change and start to become fierce.”
The sanctuary has no doubts that little Hope will continue to thrive.
Pete continued: “She clearly has a will to live.
“Lynn is with her at all times because she doesn’t want to take any chances, but from my experience, we’re over the first hump and I believe she will only go from strength to strength.”
Shetland is home to the highest density of otters in Europe with around 1000 of the creatures believed to live off the island.