Two Orphaned Otter Pups Flourish in the Wild After Rehabilitation

Two North American river otter pups have been returned to the wild following a five-month rehabilitation by Think Wild Central Oregon and the Wildlife Center of the North Coast.

Infant river otters rescued in Central Oregon. Photo courtesy of Think Wild Central Oregon.

On June 26, 2024, while patrolling Cove Palisades State Park, park ranger Tyler Banks made an extraordinary discovery. Nestled in a roadside ditch were three tiny river otter pups. The otter pups, estimated to be five to six weeks old, were noticeably dehydrated and lethargic. Tyler contacted Think Wild Wildlife Hospital in Bend, Oregon. The organization quickly arranged to transport the animals to their facility, where the medical rehab team provided essential care. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, one of the puppies did not survive.

Throughout the next month, the wildlife hospital care team administered hydration therapy and parasite treatments to the surviving otter pups. Once stable, the otter pups were moved to the Wildlife Center of the North Coast in Astoria, Oregon, for further rehabilitation. Here, the otters learned essential survival skills, such as foraging and hunting live prey in preparation for release.

Otters are intelligent animals that can easily adapt to human presence. Because of this, wildlife rehabilitators limit interactions with otters to help them retain their natural behaviors and develop a necessary wariness of humans. This caution is essential for their successful reintroduction into the wild. To minimize human interaction, the care team wore camouflaging ghillie suits during all their encounters with the otters.

In mid-November of 2024, the otters returned to Think Wild and were subsequently set free in a riparian habitat on private property adjacent to a river in central Oregon. The team built a temporary insulated den and provided additional food via a specialized feeding port to aid the otters in adapting to their new wilderness surroundings. A trail cam was also positioned at the release site to monitor the otter's progress. Think Wild celebrated the otter's rehabilitation, writing on its Facebook page, "Now, these two otter pups are back where they belong—exploring their new river home!"

Think Wild is raising funds to build a specialized aquatic mammal enclosure to enhance the rehabilitation of orphaned river otters and beavers. To learn more or donate, go to: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/think-wild/aquatic-mammal-enclosure