BOCA RATON, Fla. \u2014 Here in South Florida, we are lucky to live alongside so much wildlife.<\/p>\n
You may never have even seen one outside of a zoo, but river otters actually call South Florida home, too.<\/p>\n
They are found in all kinds of fresh waterways throughout the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n
The Man family lives in West Boca and they relish their backyard view to a little world filled with wildlife.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see birds and the turtles come up, the otters, it\u2019s really amazing, we\u2019re lucky,\u201d said Jade Man. \u201cWe see them eating fish all the time, they are so cute, they\u2019re adorable. It\u2019s really an amazing experience and we have been watching them since we moved into our house.\u201d<\/p>\n
They normally watch the playful family of three from afar, but that changed a few weeks ago when Boaz Man went to walk his dog outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was growling at something under the chair and I saw one of the otters was just sitting there very unusual, just lying not doing anything,\u201d said Boaz Man. \u201cUsually they are very active and they will run and they will kind of grunt at you and make some contact, but then they\u2019ll go back into the lake.\u201d<\/p>\n
The otter was lethargic and limping, and conveniently enough, Boaz Man knows all about animals!<\/p>\n
\u201cThat otter picked the one house with the Veterinarian,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was definitely fortuitous for the otter and for us, and we were really, really appreciative to be a part of that miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n
The South Florida Wildlife Center immediately came out, but the hardest part for the volunteers was trapping the slithery wild animal.<\/p>\n
They installed fencing and used nets, worried he would escape, but once they safely trapped him, it was time for treatment. <\/p>\n
\u201cSupportive care, that just subcutaneous fluids, anti-inflammatories, cage rest, fed him an adequate diet,\u201d said Melanie Lemieux with the South Florida Wildlife Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since his bloodwork and x-rays came back perfect, and he began to heal quickly, rehabbers at the wildlife center knew it was something they see all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are very susceptible for second hand toxicity, which could be from an algae bloom, generally caused from runoff from weed killer, pesticides,\u201d said Lemieux. <\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, over 90-95% of our cases are human caused issues,\u201d added Dr. Tess McPheeters with the South Florida Wildlife Center. <\/p>\n With specialized care, the little river otter bounced back after a few weeks.<\/p>\n Once they knew he could hunt for his own fish and get in and out of the water, it was time to go back home.<\/p>\n \u201cHe started like making this yelping sound and a few minutes before that, his siblings had come out and were jumping out of the water,\u201d said Jade Man. <\/p>\n \u201cHe darted straight into the lake and then he was swimming around as happy as can be, it was really just a joyous thing, like a reunion,\u201d said Boaz Man. <\/p>\n His release back into his home lake with his otter family was an incredibly emotional moment.<\/p>\n \u201cI got tears in my eyes because I\u2019m so happy that they were together again,\u201d said Jade Man. <\/p>\n ADDITIONAL LINK<\/p>\n