They were raised to be wild. Visit https://youtube.com/c/ottermom for more videos. Otter release & Life Story
We raised 3 one week old ASC otter pups as wildlings. We live close to a few estuaries where the otters live in the wild. The mother of these was killed so the weaned pups could be sold as pets in the illegal wildlife trade. We raised them near those areas to be able to catch their own fo
od. Unfortunately, one died after eating something bad in our creek. But both surviving sister can catch now enough food to live well in the wild. When they were old enough, we set up two soft releases in a wilderness areas when otter spraint (that is what otter poop is called) was found. We set up camp, staying a meters away from the holt and food we set up until they could get used to the area and hunt. They would come and visit our camp before dark then head to their holt area and hunt. One night we heard them screaming and we had to grab our headlights and dash off into the jungle, slipping and stumbling on river rocks, vines and dense bushes following the sounds. We came upon a man who had one otter by the neck, trying to get it out of the snare trap he set. He was being beset upon by her sibling who was biting his ankle and feet, he didn’t have a headlight and was able to do this in the dark, perhaps he initially had a flashlight, although there wasn’t one left behind. Our arrival shocked him as we were screaming at the man to let the otter go. In the process, which a look of utter shock, he did drop the otter and ran as fast as he could, without a word, stumbling through the dense forest and vines. Our attention was immediately on the poor frightened otters. The one in the snare was cut but having twisted herself right good, but it was minor and was treated when we got to camp. They didn’t leave our tent that night. We decided it was best to bring them back to their safe and large enclosure back on our property. Another soft release came after year, but it too failed. We decided since we do live where they are from, and they were safe with us, to keep them and raise them as naturally as possible. To have them be ambassadors of their kind, as most people are not aware that Palawan has otters. To the point where humans are now encroaching into their territories and poachers, especially during this endless COVID-19 are rapidly depleting their numbers. They have a creek they forage in as, and as often as possible taken to the mangrove beach nearby to catch wild crabs, fish in tide pools etc. Asian small clawed otters do not live in the sea like sea otters. They live along the shores of the dense surrounding mangrove forests. So our otters do not swim out to sea away from us, but along the shore. They are never leashed and wander about freely catching what they want. When it is time to go, they follow us back to the truck. Unlike most otters in the world, Asian small clawed otters are monogamous. They live in large family groups always touching one another. Only the parents breed and remain alpha all their lives until one of them dies or is killed. Hence, there are no other female offspring that can nurse unweaned pups if a mother is taken away. Wild otters have been known to live upwards of 12 years. The remaining mate goes through a period of grief. Then eventually can find another female or male, who is not already mated. Intruders are fought off, male and female alike, to keep the nuclear family intact.
