PHOTOS | Orphaned baby river otter rescued by The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
BALTIMORE (7News) — The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore announced Thursday it is rehabilitating a rescued female North American river otter pup.
According to the Maryland Zoo, North American river otters can live in different bodies of water including streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, coastal shorelines and marshes. In Maryland, river otters can also live in the tidewater throughout the state.
The pup is about 40 days old and was found stranded near a river in Elk Neck State Park, the Maryland Zoo said. Park officials waited for signs of its mother, but she did not return. Officials then contacted a local animal rehabilitation center before the decision was made to bring the pup to the zoo for care.
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After an assessment, the pup was deemed non-releasable by rehab professionals at the zoo, officials said. She is currently in the hospital's quarantine area until she passes the proper health exams.
"Otters that young are very vulnerable without their mother," Erin Cantwell Grimm, Mammal Curator at the Maryland Zoo, said.
Grimm said otter pups learn everything from their mother, from hunting to eating and swimming, hospital staff has given around-the-clock care to ensure that this pup has everything it needs to survive.
"The pup was quite young when it was found without its mother so it would not have been able to survive on its own in the wild. So, we have to take over and make sure it has all the tools she'll need to thrive into adulthood," Grimm added.
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The pup will continue to be cared for until she is permanently placed at another facility. The zoo is working with the Species Survival Plan (SSP) coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to find the best future home for the pup.
The zoo will post weekly “pupdates” about the otter on its social media channels.