Our team's quick action helped otter mum Mimi

When it comes to animal care, our living collection team are second to none at picking up when something is just a little bit off. So when Asian short-clawed otter mum Mimi wasn't acting herself, they jumped into action to investigate...

During the normal daily routine in mid-May, it was noticed that Mimi seemed quite sluggish and lethargic. As time went on she was routinely not coming out of the holt at feed time and when she did come out it was for very short periods with no interest in food. This is very unusual for Mimi and so our keepers closely observed her and saw that she appeared to be having difficulty passing urine and was still disinterested in food, so after a discussion with the WWT vet team, the decision was made to take her to our local vets for blood tests, x-rays and fluids.

Tests showed that Mimi had a severe infection known as Pyometra, an infection of the womb. She was given antibiotics and returned to the exhibit where keepers kept a close eye on her and continued with medication to treat the infection. Unfortunately, she was disinterested in her feed which contained her ongoing medication and so to reduce any further risk to Mimi, our vets arranged with local vet Dr Andrew Henfrey of Dragon Veterinary Centre to undertake an operation to remove the infected womb. Surgery is not an option we would ever take lightly, but all evidence pointed to an urgent need to get on top of Mimi's infection. As we suspected it did turn out that this was the best option for Mimi due to the severity of her infection.

Mimi's operation

Mimi went in for her operation on Wednesday 18 May. The operation went incredibly well and once the vet team could see what they were looking at they established that the area was incredibly inflamed and three-times the size it should have been, something which if left untreated could have been detrimental.

Following the operation, Mimi was held in our off-show isolation unit under heat and constant observation. She picked up quite quickly and was noted eating more regularly and taking additional medication to help with her healing and recovery. She spent 10 days in isolation and, following final checks from our keepers and WWT vets, she was introduced back to a very eager Musa and Buster earlier this week (Monday 30 May) where she is thriving.

In addition to spending extra time with Mimi, the team gave Musa and Buster extra attention and enrichment to keep them occupied, such as hiding their feed, keeping a close eye on them during the time they were without Mimi.

Isolation

When we isolate an otter, the team closely monitors them throughout each day and evening (and indeed throughout the night if they are particularly poorly). These isolation holts have a larger rest area, bigger heat source and don't have a pond area, should they need to stay away from the water for any period of time.

You may have noticed that we've been doing some building work next to our main otter exhibit. This is going to be our new isolation unit. As you can imagine, being isolated for any period of time can be very difficult for any animal (and for us humans, as lockdown showed us) as well as the rest of the family. Introducing a new isolation unit right next to our exhibit allows the team easier and quicker access should the time come that we need to monitor one of our otters. It also means that our otters can still communicate visually and verbally so they can support and reassure each other - this will have a huge positive effect on their wellbeing and we're keen to get this up and running as soon as possible.

Our team

Our keepers Alex, Ptoli and collection placement student Chandani are led by collection manager Rhys. This is an incredibly strong team and they dedicate each day to the wellbeing of our animal collection. Their knowledge and close bonds to many of the animals here is highlighted by this fast action and is what potentially saved Mimi's life. The WWT vet team based at our head office in Slimbridge is always on hand for advice and guidance. And we have a very close relationship to the fantastic local vet team at Dragon Vets in Concord, Washington, who are very knowledgeable and supportive and work brilliantly with our own vets to treat our animals when needed.

Fully recovered

Mimi is foraging, swimming and generally back to being head of the otter household which is fantastic to see - she's been through a lot but has made a full recovery thanks to the quick action of our team.

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