If you would like to listen to Travis and help injured otters- consider volunteering at your local wildlife hospital!

As happy as I am to see some otter appreciation on the new episode of the New Heights podcast, and Travis's desire to save an otter from peril and raise it- there are a LOT of caveats to otter ownership.

- Sea otters are completely prohibited to own as an average person under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act.

- River otters are prohibited for private ownership in most states, but in those that do not require a permit (such as Missouri and Florida), they should not be taken from the wild

-While you can own different types of non-native otters, they can be expensive, requiring a lot of room, enrichment, seafood, and attentive care to maintain a happy, healthy life

-Otters are also rabies vectors, and they can carry it from a very young age due to close contact with their mother after child birth, making wild otters especially dangerous to encounter in close proximity

In almost all circumstances, the best course of action with an injured or sick wild otter is to call your local wildlife rehabilitation center, as they will have someone with a rabies vaccine and proper animal training to safely collect the individual, or they can direct you to your wildlife/game commission for best next steps

Leading off of that, if you would like to help otters, many rehabilitation hospitals offer ways to volunteer or intern, and greatly appreciate the help! While every hospital is different, often times you can work your way up within the organization to do more animal oriented tasks- I went from folding laundry to walking raptors over the course of a year! If you don't have the time to volunteer, donations are always appreciated!

Some rehabbers also have open houses and allow the public on tours to view their facility, so that could also be an option to view what goes in to wildlife resuce/rehab!

This is a website that can be used to locate nearby wildlife hospitals in emergencies, and can be a jumping off point to find places to volunteer! Find A Rehabber | Wildlife411