BABY RIVER OTTER IN REHABILITATION

By STEPHEN HAMMILL

Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo staff is caring for an orphaned river otter named Olive. The pup was recently transferred to the zoo from Sea World Orlando.
Olive is undergoing rehabilitation at the zoo’s Mason M. and Charles P. Lykes Florida Wildlife Center. She is about three months old. Daily bottle feedings have brought her weight up from 1 pound to 6.

“Initially, we were bottle feeding her every four hours around the clock,” said Lowry Park zookeeper Jennifer Blank. “We were actually taking her home with us at night.”

Olive is transferred daily from the zoo’s veterinary clinic to the river otter exhibit, near the entrance to the Manatee and Aquatic Center. She spends about one hour a day in the exhibit with zookeepers, adjusting to her new surroundings. She is in the exhibit in the mornings prior to the zoo’s opening.

“Right now she’s by herself and a little lonely so she needs some stimulation,” said Blank. When the zoo opens, the baby is brought inside and the adults are shifted outside. She will be introduced to the zoo’s two adult otters, a male and female, in the near future.

“There’s a good chance they could scrap right now, so we want her to be bigger,” Blank said. Soon the public will be allowed to view her, once the acclimation process is complete.

River otters, members of the weasel family, are excellent swimmers, known for their dog-paddling style near the surface. They catch fish for food, and can stay submerged for six to eight minutes.

While it is possible rehabilitated animals may be released back into the wild, according to the zoo, it is dependent upon many factors including development and behavior.

“She’s going to have to stay in captivity most likely,” Blank said. “She prefers to be with us as opposed to otters, so it would be very dangerous for her to be out there. She would put herself in harm’s way.”

Blank, a Tampa native, recalls sneaking away from home as a child to visit the zoo.

“I grew up two blocks from here, I used to run away every Saturday and ride my bike down here,” she said.

The Lowry Park Zoo, 1101 W. Sligh Ave., features more than 1,800 animals on a property that spans 56 acres. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached at 935-8552 or on the Web at http://www.lowryparkzoo.com.