Updated date:

Oct 31, 2020

Palawan Asian small clawed otters

Author:: Diana J Limjoco

The cutest wild animals I have rescued. Cuddly, fun, and adorable otters!

Baby otter pup nursing

Check out my YouTube Channel for many otter videos

Otter Mom - YouTube
Welcome! I started this channel having no idea what I was doing, except that it was a nice place to store family videos. I am a retired entrepreneur, who has...

The Most Adorable Baby Otters rescued when their mother was killed

We live in Palawan, in the Philippines, one of the most biodiverse islands in the world. Last year one of the villagers brought me a wriggling sack with high-pitched squeaks coming from it! When I opened it up, there were 3 furry little creatures inside with their eyes and ears still shut like puppies. I immediately knew they were otters since I had seen photos of them before. The story is that villagers were clearing land near the mangroves and the otter mother was killed accidentally. They then heard this dolphin-like high pitched squeals and found the 3-week old pups. Otter babies are called pups.

I had absolutely no idea what to do with them or what to feed them. We went online and found several otter organizations. We used Skype to call Scotland which had a phone listed. While our friend was on the phone I went online and searched Google for how to feed baby otters. I happened to have some low lactose puppy/kitten milk on hand from previously rescuing a civet and a pangolin, so I gave them this formula and later had to add cream and probiotics to digest the cream. Otter moms have 6% higher fat content than cows milk! They needed to be nursed for 2 1/2 months with little miniature puppy bottles with small nipples and they had to be fed every 2 hours! There were many sleepless nights for me and my assistant and we took turns with the graveyard shifts. It is not easy to raise these pups. We ran out of puppy milk and couldn't find anymore in the entire town; we had to resort to nonlactose human milk. In three days their fur began falling out! It was around the time of weaning so the otter organizations suggested giving them whole foods like small fish.

In the wild, their diet is crabs, mudskipper fish, frogs, small lizards, and mollusks. They are now 6 months old and eat 3 kilos of crabs and fish per day...that's over 6 pounds!!

Two otters and a puppy

Otter pups over the months - How fast they grow.

Otter pups about 3 weeks old. The Asian small clawed otter, are very touchy feely; always reaching out to each other for reassurance.

They took to the puppy/kitten bottle right away; it made it easier on us to feed them.

They were so helpless; I could not turn them away when I had the ability to help them.

Otter pups have a peculiar smell. Their poo is called spraint. Yup, just like it sounds, they spray pool and pee at the time.

Always touching. Their paws are soft like a baby. Three brothers. At over a month their eyes began to open just a slit. These otters mate for life.

Our daughter is learning to love earths creatures great and small.

Omar and Owen. "Shhhhh quiet Owen!" says Omar. We lost Omar this year. They break your heart these otters.

We let the otters roam. They are bonded to family and do not run away.

Hey! What was that? Mommy otter has two liters a year and the subsequent siblings raise and train each other.

Gimme dat. Otters are very clever and work together as a family team. They are never long without one of the parents or siblings.

Sleek Asc otter at 5 months old. They emit one sharp high pitched sound that works as a locator and reassurance to each other I've observed.

At almost 6 months, their fur isn't totally waterproof yet.

The least water loving of all otters; still they swim like dancers in the water. They live mainly on shores of mangroves or rivers.

Fish is not their primary diet. They eat mainly crabs, mollusks, snail, frogs and mud skipper fish.

We take the otters to the nearby mangroves when we can so they can learn to forage on their own.

Otters following us to the truck from the mangroves. Bonded to us as their family, they don't run away.

The local fishermen children had never seen the otters up close before. I teach them about the otters whenever I can.

The pups would not follow me to the deep. These otters like to feel the ground, except perhaps when they play together in the water.

Me with the otters on one of our jaunts out.

Otters are very curious and clever and work in family teams. The family does not break up until one of the parents dies.

We have a native pumpboat to take the otters to various mangroves. This was their first time in the boat. We usually take the truck to another place.

The otters can now hold their breath under water for 3 minutes.

Otter pups about 3 weeks old. The Asian small clawed otter, are very touchy feely; always reaching out to each other for reassurance.

Too sweet, this otter pup

Learning about otters in Palawan

The hard way.

It's been hard learning to raise and nurture the otters. But I wouldn't trade a day of it. They will be fully grown at 15 months and we and the otter organizations guiding us will appraise their ability to be released. I don't look forward to that day because of all the perils out there. Habitat loss as when their mom was killed clearing in the shores of the mangroves. Some are hunted for meat or their fur, even as pets to the illegal wildlife trade.

Asian small-clawed otters are the smallest otters in the world and they are monogamous. The female has two litters of pups per year and the subsequent siblings raise the next generation from one to six per litter! They all stay together as a family unit and are always touching and calling to each other. The only time the family breaks up is when one of the parents dies or is killed, as was the case with our otter pups. They are very tactile. I haven't ever seen them groom each other but they have soft paws like a baby and are always reaching out and touching each other even while they sleep. Since I am the parent I have to spend many hours in their enclosure with them, just letting them hang out on me for reassurance and comfort.

Their main diet is crabs, other invertebrates, snails, frogs and they love mudskippers. To add to that they will eat small lizards and mice. It's a real challenge to find the right foods for them nearby and it changes with the season.

Please educate those you meet where otters live to teach them respect for these very family bonded animals. They are an environmental species which means that if they start to disappear naturally without human interaction, the environment is in trouble.

Otters swimming in a mangrove cover

Otters Versus Snake

An Otterly Adorable Video will make your day

Otters underwater

Otter Organizations that Helped me tremendously

Otter Specialist Group
I cannot thank Lesley Wright enough as actually all of the women in this list for the most valuable information and moral support. The Otter Specialist Group (OSG) was founded in 1974 and is part of World Conservation (IUCN) Species Survival Commiss
International Otter Survival Fund
Many thanks to Grace Yoxon who has given me so much moral support and good information. International Otter Survival Fund 7 Black Park, Broadford, Isle of Skye IV49 9DE, Scotland
Tikki Hywood Trust
Many thanks from the bottom of my heart to Lisa Hywood. Founder, Managing Trustee of Tikki Hywood Trust " Through the formation of the Trust, the smaller, lesser known and often more endangered, wild species of animals are given a voice. Little is kn

Otterly cute.

Nothing cuter than a baby otter. Nothing stinkier either! You have to toilet them like a kitter or dog puppy, as they don't eliminate on their own.

Our daughter has taken care of several types of wildlife orphans.

Out on their first foray to the nearby mangrove beach to learn to fend for themselves.

Otter was scared by a smallish wave and scooted back to shore.

Nothing cuter than a baby otter. Nothing stinkier either! You have to toilet them like a kitter or dog puppy, as they don't eliminate on their own.

Did you know Palawan had otters?

My other Hub pages

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A native fishing boat fitted with all solar lights for night fishing. All others are powered by diesel generators.
Sustainable tropical journey
Our endeavor to use materials readily available and thus cut down on our carbon footprint.
A rescued baby Pangolin
About a scaly anteater, also called a pangolin, being illegally harvested at an alarming and unsustainable rate.
Our masked Asian Palm Civet
A rescued baby masked Asian Palm civet
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Wild birds in our former backyard.