A random otter thought to have escaped life as a household pet was rescued Saturday after she almost became lunch to a hungry dog.
We enter the story with “Phil,” a Samui snake rescuer, who according to Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, came across the poor animal with serious dog bite wounds on its neck.
Phil got her first-aid treatment from a local veterinarian. She is an Oriental small-clawed otter, a type classified as “vulnerable” due to habitat loss that communicate with their poop. No really:
“They also produce small amounts of feces, known as spraint,” so knoweth the Wikipedia. “The spraints are important for communication among the otters; those with different smells and appearance indicate the presence of strangers.”
The foundation picked her up for further care, saying she is a real people-otter and was likely kept as a pet. She is very tame and loves people. No one has stepped forward to claim the unidentified otter, and she is being treated for her injuries at the foundation’s center in Petchaburi province.
The little otter is doing much better, they said.
