Back in May rangers at Elk Neck State Park in Cecil County noticed some strange noises coming from near the water.
The crying, squeaking and grunting was coming from a North American Otter pup, whose mother never returned.
Now that pup has a new home and is causing quite a buzz there.
The Maryland Zoo, in Baltimore, is caring for the pup and helping it meet its developmental benchmarks.
@marylandzoo Around 2 months old, the approximate age of the rescued pup we’re caring for at the Zoo hospital, young river otters start learning to swim! #otter #babyanimals #swimlessons #marylandzoo ♬ Funny Song - Cavendish Music
Unfortunately, zoo goers won’t get a glimpse of the pup, which is now about five months old.
“We weren't exactly sure what she was exposed to out in the wild,” said Jennifer Sohl, the director of hospital and conservation programs at the Maryland Zoo. “Otters are susceptible to canine distemper which foxes and all those can carry around. Also, there's tick borne diseases and things that she could be exposed to.”
Otters are also susceptible to COVID-19, which is another good reason the yet-to-be-named pup isn’t anywhere near the public.
“She’s very susceptible, we always wear masks when we're around her,” Sohl said.
For now, zookeepers and vets are working to keep the pup healthy and teaching it some of the skills it would have learned from its mother.
@marylandzoo The rescued river otter pup we’re caring for at the Zoo hospital very efficiently dries herself off with a pile of towels we provide her for this behavior! #otter #marylandzoo #otterpup ♬ vlog, chill out, calm daily life(1370843) - SUNNY HOOD STUDIO
“We're starting to target train her,” Sohl said. “She will come up to a little buoy. And when we say focus, she'll come up to the buoy, and then she gets a reward.
Target training teaches the otter to come to the edge of an enclosure when zookeepers need to feed her or do medical checks.
It’s unlikely that this baby otter will make it back into the wild because she lost her mother so early.
At this point she hasn’t learned enough skills to survive on her own and she’s already adjusted to seeing people on a regular basis.
“We wanted to be able to release her back into the wild,” Sohl said. “That was our goal the first two days. But once she starts to see people as an engagement, something that she likes, we can't put her back out into the environment where there are people.”
The team even tried using puppets to simulate another otter, but unfortunately the risk is too high that she will be too comfortable with humans in the wild and harm herself or others.
This September, the Maryland Zoo will meet with members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to figure out the next course of action.
She may stay at the Maryland Zoo and be placed with an adult otter that already lives there named Hudson.
Another option is that the otter pup will be sent to another zoo to live.
In the meantime, Mike Evitts, the director of communications for the zoo, says the otter is healthy and is helping teach the community about the species. The zoo has been posting TikToks and Instagram stories about the otter and getting thousands of views.
@marylandzoo *grumble grumble* Listen closely to hear grunts, squeaks, and other river otter noises from the rescued pup we’re caring for at the Zoo hospital! #otter #zoo #marylandzoo ♬ original sound - maryland zoo
“It's got a big personality, and it's super telegenic,” Evitts said. “It's an adorable creature and people around the globe have been responding to that. For our zoo, what that does is that opens the door for us to talk about all the things that go into animal wellbeing, into her care and into the conditions that otters live in or can't survive in in the wild.”
