Florida Wildlife Hospital recently released two orphaned female otters after rehabilitating them for several months.
The first otter arrived to the nonprofit wildlife hospital in Palm Shores Jan. 15 as an infant. The second otter was brought in on Feb. 13, as a juvenile.
“Otters are one of the most expensive patients we care for due to their expensive food and the length of time it takes for them to learn skills needed to survive in the wild,” FWH Executive Director Tracy Frampton said in a statement. “However, they are pretty entertaining to watch. Most of our people only get to see videos of them due to the need to keep them wild. Only the staff members that care for them get to actually see them in person.”
The two otters had a long journey at the hospital, from being bottle fed to learning to swim and then to catching live fish, and live blue crabs, wildlife FWH officials said in a release. “FWH is very excited to see them go back to where they belong. The pair was released August 5. It was like a child going off to college. It’s very exciting when you’re packing up but then gets scary when you arrive.:
To donate to the wildlife hospital, visit https://floridawildlifehospital.org.
Waymer covers environment. Contact him at (321) 261-5903 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Rescued otters return to the wild after rehab
Reporting by Jim Waymer, Florida Today / Florida Today
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By Jim Waymer, Florida Today | USA TODAY Network
