After five-and-a-half months of rehabilitation at Center Valley Animal Rescue, two young otters finally returned to their home on the shores of Puget Sound Saturday.

To watch the otters being released back into the wild, visit: https://www.facebook.com/centervalleyanimalrescue/videos/1118242832314186

Shelter workers watched as the pair emerged from a plastic pet carrier and frolicked on the shore near Thorndyke.

“The release is our reward after months and months of work,” said Sara Penhallegon, the founder and board director of Center Valley Animal Rescue.

Although the otters happily returned to their native waters, their situation was entirely different and incredibly dire when they were found alone as babies.

One of the river otters was discovered on Vashon Island June 2.

The baby otter, Penhallegon said, “was attacked by a dog and left on the beach.”

Another male around the same age was found on Vashon five days later, abandoned and severely dehydrated.

Penhallegon speculated that its mother was likely killed, leaving the baby otter alone and vulnerable.

Staff and veterinarians nursed the critters back to health. The otters were fortunate to have each other, shelter officials said, considering that they are social creatures that need connection with their peers.

“We try to have them always with a like species,” Penhallegon said. “They need that socialization because we’re not hanging out with them. We don’t want them to get too used to people”

Since the goal was to return the otters to nature, staff only came in contact with the animals to bring food and check on their well-being. Although the natural instinct of humans is to pamper them as pets, that approach would prevent the otters from returning to their true home in the wild.

“If we coddle these animals they’re not gonna be releasable,” Penhallegon explained. “We try to prepare them the best we can.”

Otters can prove to be quite the challenge to care for, however.

“They’re the hardest animals that we take in to actually handle,” she said.

“They’re very difficult patients,” she said, adding they are natural escape artists and incredibly intelligent and unruly.

“When I enter their enclosure, all I hear is a deep grumble,” she said of tending for the pair. “They eat a ton; it’s an impressive amount.”

The hungry mammals enjoy a strictly carnivorous diet consisting of mostly fish. Still, living in the animal rescue shelter does have its advantages for the otters though, as they munched on a variety of tasty delicacies that included shrimp, mice, rats, and quail.

And after months together in the center, the two otters have bonded.

“They’re basically siblings,” Penhallegon said.

After a long time of waiting and healing, the otters were finally ready to be released.

Before being brought back to the waters of Hood Canal, animal rescue staff had to test each otter for COVID. Otters can get and spread COVID if they are exposed to the virus, so staff checked the pair before they were prepped to leave the shelter.

“Otters are a COVID species,” she said. “These guys had been waiting til today to get COVID results, to get tested before release.”

After getting the final green light with two negative COVID tests Friday, the otters were cleared for freedom.

Penhallegon is a veterinarian, and spends most of her time tending to the numerous animals at the center. Although her job can be difficult and very time-consuming, she said she loves to bring animals back to health and watch them return to their homes in the wilderness.

“Everyone was put on the earth for a reason, and this is my reason,” she said.

Saturday Oct. 30, the otters were put in a portable kennel and moved to a private waterfront property near Thorndyke and Coyle. Anticipation started to grow for the animal rescue workers and otters alike, as the kennel door opened to a wilderness waiting to be explored.

The otters peeked outside at their surroundings, then suddenly bolted, side-by-side, as they ran along the shoreline.