When search crews head out after a disaster or a crime, most people picture dogs. In Florida, one team has added an otter.
Splash, a 2-year-old Asian small-clawed otter, has been trained to assist in underwater search and recovery missions by Peace River K9 Search and Rescue president Michael Hadsell. He is believed to be the only otter in the country who has successfully been trained for the work.
Hadsell, who has spent 46 years in search and rescue, told AAHA, a magazine of The American Animal Hospital Association, that the idea came after he read about otters on a flight back from Los Angeles.
“I was reading an article on a flight back from Los Angeles about otters and how they possibly can work odor underwater, and hunt underwater using odor and using their whiskers,” Hadsell told AAHA. “And I started thinking, well, if they can work odor underwater, then we can train them.”
Hadsell then went to Mote Marine and Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida, where he watched trainers working with otters.
“I realized at that point that, yeah, I think we can do this. We can make this happen,” he told AAHA. “And so, we went to work.”
Splash is used mainly for search and recovery, not rescue. Hadsell trains him in a home swimming pool by hiding an object marked with the odor of human remains, then placing the same smell on a ball on the end of a stick. When given a signal, Splash sniffs the ball and dives into the pool to find the target.
Otters smell underwater by blowing bubbles at a target and quickly breathing them back in, where they absorb odors. Once Splash picks up a target scent, he alerts handlers who are often diving with him.
“He comes up and starts grabbing my mask to tell me he’s got something, and he’s not going to let me get away until I start moving forward,” Hasdell said.
Splash wears a custom harness so he can be attached to Hadsell underwater. Once he finds a scent target, he lies on top of it so people can mark the search area. When he gets it right, he gets a piece of salmon.
“It has to be farm-raised salmon,” Hadsell quipped to Outside Magazine. “He won’t eat wild salmon.”
According to the account, Splash can hold his breath for five minutes. After four months of training, he helped recover a weapon used in a 25-year murder case. At 8 months old, he also located human DNA on a clay brick at the bottom of a lake. He has since been called on for at least 20 other recovery missions.
Hadsell said Splash can work in fresh water or salt water, but he is not allowed to go deeper than 30 feet. He is also kept out of strong currents.
“The search has to qualify for the otter, or we don’t use him,” Hasdell told AAHA.
The team also watches for predators in open water.
“I have folks on the team who wear shirts that say ‘Otter Spotter’ on them,” Hadsell added. “They watch for alligators and anything else, so they’re constantly keeping track of him so we know where he is and where the dangers are.”
Splash is also sensitive to illness. On rare occasions, he needs a bath with Dawn dish soap and then takes a few days off while his protective oils balance out.
“He’s out there with the rest of them, wanting to do his thing,” Hadsell told AAHA. “He’s part of the team now.”
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