Florida wildlife hospital teaches orphaned otters how to live in the wild
After months of rehabilitation, the Florida Wildlife Hospital in Palm Shores has released four rescued otter pups into the wild.
Early Wednesday, rescue workers released four young otter orphans back into the wild after a long recovery period at the Florida Wildlife Hospital in Palm Shores.
The saga begins
The hospital’s “otter saga” began on December 22, 2023, when they received a call from a wildlife rehab in Kissimmee that had three orphaned otters and was unable to care for them at the time. The litter consisted of two males and one female. The rescuer suspected the mother had been killed by a car.
They were the size of kittens. The female was not as healthy as the males and died two weeks after arriving in Brevard.
Another orphan couple
Then, in early March, the wildlife hospital received a call from Vero Beach about another orphaned pair of otters: a male and a female.
The otters were taught swimming and other survival skills at the wildlife hospital and were released when rescuers were confident they could survive in the wild.
“It’s always bittersweet when one of our long-term patients is released,” said Tracy Frampton, the wildlife hospital’s executive director, in a press release. “The keepers will miss their antics but are thrilled that these comical mammals’ journey is over.”
The Florida Wildlife Hospital is a local nonprofit funded by donations that treats approximately 5,000 patients each year.
