Volunteers needed to catch live fish
The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife on Sanibel reported that it has two hungry, growing otters to feed and is in need of volunteer anglers to catch live freshwater fish.
“North American river otters have high metabolisms meaning they must feed frequently,” Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager Breanna Frankel said. “The two young otters were admitted in early March and have finally reached the stage where they must begin live prey training. In the wild, their mothers teach them the necessary skills to survive, including how to hunt. Oftentimes, otter pups stay with their mom for about a year to fully develop their hunting and foraging skills. Since we can’t teach them in the same way their wild mother would, we utilize live prey training to finely tune their hunting skills giving them a better chance of survival once released.”
Nonnative freshwater fish, such as Mayan cichlids, are the preferred fish for staff to offer the otters. Removing invasive fish from waterways helps to preserve native species and local ecosystems, while also providing food for the otters. CROW is in need of a dedicated handful of volunteers to take on the task until the end of July, when the otters will be ready for release. According to staff, 15-20 live fish are needed per day. The fish must be alive when dropped off and drop offs must be coordinated with CROW’s rehabilitation manager to ensure a surplus of fish are not dropped off on the same day.
All Florida freshwater fishing regulations must be followed, including being a licensed angler.
The ideal drop off times would be between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Free admission to the Visitor Education Center will be offered to those who drop off fish, where they can view a live stream feed of the otters receiving the fish for training.
If you are interested in helping, contact Frankel at bfrankel@crowclinic.org.