Wednesday, October 25, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
25
The Nugget Newspaper Crossword
By Jacqueline E. Mathews, Tribune News Service
PHOTO PROVIDED
Pitch was found along the Metolius River west of Sisters.
Otter found along
Metolius has a name
Baby’s grown up. The
baby otter the High Desert
Museum received in May
from the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW),
is now a thriving 26-week-old
youngster who’s joined Brook
and Rogue, the Museum’s
two other otters, in the Autzen
Otter Exhibit. Don’t call him
Baby though. The Museum
auctioned off his naming
rights during the High Desert
Rendezvous in August, and
the winners decided to name
him Pitch.
“Our wildlife staff has
done an incredible job of
raising Pitch through bottle
feedings and some sleepless
nights,” said the Museum’s
Executive Director Dana
Whitelaw, Ph.D. “They’ve
spent a considerable amount
of time with Pitch, even help-
ing him learn how to swim, a
skill he would have learned
from a parent in the wild.”
A hiker found the otter
pup along the Metolius River
in May and took it to a local
wildlife rehabilitator. ODFW
District Wildlife Biologist
Corey Heath and ODFW
wildlife veterinarians decided
the best outcome for the pup
would be to place the animal
permanently with the High
Desert Museum. Now, after
15 weeks, Pitch spends most
of his day on exhibit swim-
ming and playing with the
two other otters.
The Autzen Otter Exhibit
was designed to have three
otters. During the recent
renovation of “Otter Space,”
many upgrades including new
pumps and filters, glass-view-
ing walls, interior exhibits, a
beautiful mural and an otter
slide have greatly enhanced
the living space for the otters
as well as viewing opportuni-
ties for visitors.
“We’d like to remind folks
that finding a young animal
alone in the wild doesn’t
necessarily mean that it has
been abandoned,” said the
Museum’s Curator of Wildlife
Jon Nelson. “When an adult
goes to feed or rest, most
times it will leave its young
in a secluded spot, then return
to check on the young or pro-
tect them from predators. If
hikers find a young or injured
animal, they should con-
tact a local ODFW office or
local wildlife rehabilitator. A
list of licensed wildlife reha-
bilitators can be found on the
ODFW (www.dfw.state.or.us)
or High Desert Museum web-
site (highdesertmuseum.org/
injured-wildlife/).”
For more information
about Pitch or the Autzen
Otter Exhibit, contact the
Museum at 541-382-4754
ext. 241 or visit the website
at highdesertmuseum.org/
autzen-otter-exhibit.
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