Out: River Otter in Training

I volunteer for Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (I'm the webmaster and also a rehabber). Earlier this year, LTWC received an orphaned river otter. In case you were wondering, yes, baby river otters are the cutest things ever. They're energetic, gregarious and playful, and incredibly charming. Young otters require interaction as they're growing, which means that we actually had to play with this one, for her own good. But unlike other wild animals, which will become imprinted after a prolonged period of interaction with humans, river otters naturally grow out of their need for company once they reach full maturity.

After spending the summer in LTWC (which has the only rehab habitat for river otters in California), she's now all growns up and just about ready for release. To get her ready for the big day, LTWC volunteers take her to a nearby creek a couple of times a week to practice swimming, diving and looking for food.

On Wednesday, Anthony and I went along. Anthony filmed the outing (we'll post a video on LTWC's site soon) and I took some photos (which will also be on the site soon) . In the meantime, enjoy the cuteness here, and pardon the blurriness -- she didn't stop moving the entire time.