‘He has a terrific memory and is very intelligent. He’s very good at his job: PR,’ explains Daphne Neville. Rudi is the 10th otter Mrs Neville has owned at her Gloucestershire mill since she realised how filthy England’s rivers were in 1980. ‘We decided we had to convince Parliament to focus on clean water and the easiest way to do that was with a baby otter.’
Daughter Perry used her 18th-birthday money to buy a 12-week-old cub, named Bee, ‘because otters smell of honey’. Hundreds of public engagements and photoshoots followed, garnering the support of then Environment Minister Michael Meacher and Sir David Attenborough. ‘It’s done too well,’ admits Mrs Neville. ‘Now, 2,000 otters are killed on roads each year.’
To combat this new problem, Mrs Neville and Rudi are promoting Animal Alerts, which glue onto cars and emit ultrasonic sounds to warn deer, rabbits, dogs and otters (they can be bought from Amazon).
It’s not all campaigning, however: Rudi is a regular at fêtes, children’s parties (even at Kensington Palace) and film shoots. ‘He leaps straight into his travelling cage, because he knows he’s going on an adventure. He’s thrilled when he knows people are going to admire him.’
Rudi is also a professional on camera: ‘If I explain what to do, he understands. I treat him like a human being.’ His most recent appearance was on ITV’s The Durrells: ‘We re-created Corfu here and at Ealing Studios. I got him to run from one end of Gerry’s shed to the other with a trail of cups of water.’
Although gentle, Rudi is licensed under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. ‘I’m conscious of his 36 sharp teeth. I’m probably a bit schoolmarmish, but I’ve never had a problem in 40 years.’
Rudi’s preferred place is on Mrs Neville’s shoulders. ‘His mother abandoned him,’ she explains. ‘I had him with me all the time, like a joey, so he was warm and used to everyday living.’ Otherwise, he lives in a large cage in the garden, where the wild otters his predecessors helped save ‘come and say hello’.
Credit: Debbie Ryan
The rhino who reads Country Life
Yes - really. Monty the rhino enjoyed his Country Life fame so much that he had to have a look
Meet Britain's best hotel animals: The quack pack, the doggy doorman and the moggy maître d'
Emma Hughes gets to know the dogs, cats and ducks bringing animal magic to some of Britain’s best hotels.
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Nature and nurture in the gardens of Bramham ParkTim Richardson looks at the innovative and superbly maintained 18th-century landscape garden of Bramham Park in West Yorkshire, home of Nick and Rachel Lane Fox. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
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If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
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The penguins of London Zoo: Traditionally good parents, occasionally clumsy and strictly not monogamous'Once, the BBC was filming here and the penguins would take apart the equipment and run away with it, always the most expensive bits.'
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The nativity camels: Unbelievably clever, a tad greedy and undeniably festive‘They know we’d never take them anywhere dangerous. They trust us so much.'
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The Shetland pony who goes to the races‘The louder people cheer, the faster they go. It gets faster and faster all week – or my nerves get worse!’
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The chickens of Wyken Hall: Mischievous, adorable and the best listeners a person could ask for‘In my left-leaning youth, they would attend meetings, but my comrades voted to remove them. That was when I realised my time there was up – the chickens were very concerned about the Albanian question!’
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Britain's first giant tortoises: 'They’ve been around for 200 million years - we’re a blip to them'Adrian Graham is passionate about his pets, which can live for up to 250 years and grow to the size of a rather tall man.
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Animal Magic: ‘For a while because the canal was full of buffalo – they had to close it for 24 hours to get them out!’Roger Alsop tells the story of his water buffalo, from buffalo mozzarella and local ice cream.
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The Devil’s Horsemen: The stallion who's starred in Game of Thrones, Wonder Woman and The CrownOctavia Pollock visits Camilla Naprous of The Devil’s Horsemen to find out more about the horses they train for film.
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Matthew Parris on his llamas: 'They’re interested in everything humans are doing'Matthew Parris, the MP-turned-journalist/political commentator, keeps pet llamas at his home in Derbyshire. He spoke to Octavia Pollock.
