Otter cubs prove a popular attraction for nature reserve

The cubs were spotted playing with their mother on a frozen marsh at Tophill Low near Driffield.

Staff said it was “very rare” to see otters with cubs in the area up until recently as they had virtually been driven out by “land practices” and persecution from people.

But the breeding success follows a determined effort to foster otter populations with the creation of three underground otter holts and significant investment in creating wetland habitats which are ideal for the species.

Richard Hampshire, warden at the site, which is run by Yorkshire Water, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that all our hard-work and investment appears to be paying off with the sighting of a female and her two cubs.

“We knew that we had a least one otter around the site, but this is the first confirmation we’ve had of a breeding success at the reserve in the last few years.

“The pictures, taken by reserve regular Darren Smith, capture the female with her two cubs, which we believe to be around two months old, playing on the ice which has covered much of our north marsh for the last week or so.

“Whilst nature created them as daytime hunters, historical persecution has generally changed their behaviour and now they are only usually seen around dawn and dusk, with daytime sightings tending to be quite rare.”

He added: “We believe that the mother and cubs have had to evacuate their nearby holt after it became flooded during the heavy rain, which is why we’re seeing these cubs up and about slightly earlier than we’d normally expect.

“However, it’s common for the mother to have at least three nearby homes available to her, so any move is unlikely to be stressful and from the pictures alone they all look to be in good health and enjoying themselves.”

A motion-activated camera has recently been installed at the reserve to unearth the secret lives of the vast array of wildlife there.

The camera films in high definition anything that moves in front of it, day or night.

Selected footage will be uploaded onto the reserve’s website and will also be used to illustrate talks for visitors.