AN OTTER pup is on the mend after having been found exhausted and struggling near Abergavenny.

The pup was found staggering along a section of riverbank near the town after concerned passers by contacted the authorities.

The authority in this case was Lee Jenkins, founder of the South Wales Otter Trust.

"I got a call early on Saturday evening about a poorly otter," he said.

"The caller said it didn’t have much energy and kept stopping it was so exhausted.

"I went down on Saturday evening and searched until it got dark."

There was no sign of the otter pup, however, and so the search resumed at dawn.

This time a number of local volunteers also arrived to help Mr Jenkins.

"The aim was to have one coming upstream and one downstream while a further pair of volunteers searched nearby woodland," he explained.

"We also set a camera trap."

Mr Jenkins praised the willingness of the Abergavenny volunteers, before stressing that, if you do find an otter pup you think might be abandoned, do not touch it.

“Seek professional help,” he said.

“The mother may be coming back for it.”

Mr Jenkins has "lots of veterinary training" after working as a zookeeper at Bristol Zoo.

His theory was that the pup was tucked up somewhere in a thicket.

Mr Jenkins was on the way home to fetch his dog - "also good at finding otters" - when he got a phone call saying that some walkers had found it.

"By the time I got there one of our volunteers had caught it in a net," he said.

"I took it straight to Riverside Vets, where it was given painkillers and rehydration fluid."

The pup – which has since been named Usk - was too weak to travel, so Mr Jenkins took it home.

He fed Usk some salmon at 4pm and then again at 10pm, which was gratefully received.

"You have to be careful not to feed them too much to soon or they bloat and can die," he explained.

"It was feeling a lot better and managed to shred my welding glove. An active little angry otter pup, that’s just what we want."

Usk is now in the care of the UK Wild Otter Trust Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre.

"They’re experts in the care otters need," Mr Jenkins said.

"The current theory is that the pup strayed into the territory of another otter. The injuries are consistent with this.

"It could’ve been a dog, but an otter is more likely."

Usk is now recovering in purpose-built accommodation and has "definitely improved".

"The pup may need specialist treatment, but that will depend on an assessment tomorrow," Mr Jenkins said.

"Eventually it’ll be returned to the wild.

"This is tricky though as you have to do it somewhere where there is a neutral otter territory.

"Hopefully there will be a nice end to the story."

The South Wales Otter Trust is based in Abergavenny.

It was started five years ago as "there was no coordinated survey effort on otters and where they are", Mr Jenkins explained.

"I wanted to have a snapshot on how they’re doing," he said.

Surveyors are trained and then given a section of water course to monitor.

For more information, to volunteer or donate, visit southwalesottertrust.org.uk