A pair of orphaned river otters have found a new home in central Oregon, thanks to some help from a coalition of kind-hearted humans.
On June 26, Oregon State Park ranger Tyler Banks found a trio of otter pups in a ditch alongside the road in The Cove Palisades State Park outside Madras, according to Think Wild, the Bend-based wildlife hospital that brought them in. All three pups were “very lethargic” the organization said, and one of them died shortly after being found.
Banks called an Oregon State Police wildlife officer, who transported the two remaining pups to Think Wild.
At the wildlife hospital, the two female pups were found to be lethargic and moderately dehydrated, with dirt on their faces and plant seeds stuck in their fur. Staff gave the otters fluids and antiparasitics as well as a full exam that determined the pups were 5 to 6 weeks old.
Rehabilitating rescued otters is not an easy task, Think Wild said.
“River otters are highly intelligent and can easily become habituated to humans if proper precautions are not taken,” Pauline Hice, director of wildlife rehabilitation, said in a news release. “Animals that become comfortable around humans cannot safely or humanely be returned to the wild, so we are taking extreme measures to ensure the otter pups do not associate humans or their scent with food or safety.”
Those measures include wearing camouflage suits, boots, and masks when feeding the otter pups, the organization said.
Further rehabilitation requires eight months to two years of care, according to Think Wild, requiring a pool with a filtration system, chew- and dig-proof metal caging, and other enrichment and safety features.
Because Think Wild does not have those resources, the organization will be sending the otters to the Wildlife Center of the North Coast in Astoria, where they will be rehabilitated until they’re old enough to be released back into the wild. At that point, they’ll be shipped back to central Oregon, returning to the lands where they were left behind.
Since the rescue, Think Wild has been fundraising for the proper resources to take in orphaned otters and beavers in the future. The $35,000 project would build an aquatic mammal enclosure on the organization’s four-acre campus.
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