The duo were checked over and assessed before onward transport to Skye. Picture: Facebook<\/p>\n
A PAIR of otters have been rescued yards from a busy Wester Ross trunk road thanks to the quick-thinking actions of a fan heading to a music festival.<\/p>\n
Ellie Macgregor was on the A835 en route to the ongoing Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival<\/a> when she spotted what appeared to be two young otters<\/a>.<\/p>\n She alerted Noel Hawkins, well-known locally as an ambassador for wildlife and his involvement with the award-winning environmental campaigning group, Ullapool Sea Savers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Recalling the incident yesterday, Noel, who also runs boat trips, said: \u201cA day off the boat and away from wildlife. So I thought…<\/p>\n \u201cHuge thanks to Ellie Macgregor Emac Gregor for notifying me that two young otters had been spotted on the A835, south of Ullapool, near Leckmelm Gardens, as she headed down to Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the help of Stephen Edwards who was out on Scottish Water work passing and Anne Falconer with Nigel Holmes, we managed to find them in very busy road.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were acting strange, and we sadly assumed Mum had been hit on the road or something, and with the high risk of them being hit too, we opted for an uplift.\u201d<\/p>\n He paid tribute to Marina Perez and Conanvet for a check over and weighing so as to confirm whether they were suitable for relay, before a drive to Achnasheen to hand over to Grace and Paul from International Otter Survival Fund on Skye.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hoped the little ones will be looked after and make it back into the wild once bigger and ready.<\/p>\n Due to the reason why they were spotted by Ellie, they have been named ‘Bella’ and ‘Drum’.<\/p>\n In an uplifting update, International Otter Survival Fund on Skye posted: \u201cThanks to Noel Hawkins and everyone involved in getting them to us. That road is so busy they wouldn\u2019t have stood a chance. They have both eaten again overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n If you want to find out more about the Otter Survival Fund team and work, and possibly help towards the costs of feeding and treating the young otters over the next while, please visit International Otter Survival Fund or https:\/\/www.otter.org\/<\/a><\/p>\nThe otters were picked up very close to the busy A835 Ullapool road near Leckmelm. Picture: Noel Hawkins<\/p>\n
The duo were checked over and assessed before onward transport to Skye. Picture: Facebook<\/p>\n
The duo were checked over and assessed before onward transport to Skye. Picture: Facebook<\/p>\n