Swimming With Otters Is A Real Thing At An Louisana Animal Preserve

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AmyBrown
Oct 23, 2019 9:00 AM EDT

Barn Hill Preserve in Louisana, US, let's you swim with adorable Asian small-clawed otters! Well, there are some restrictions. First, you must be at least 16 years, and second, you have to sign a waiver before your experience. 

The swimming with otters experience is approx. 1 hour. This includes a portion of the tour, changing of clothes, orientation and about 35 minutes of pool time with the adorable otters. And the number of swims is limited so that this experience remains a very positive experience for the otters, as well as humans. 

President and CEO of Barn Hill Preserve, John Ligon, talks about the work the preserve does for the animals, including; providing animal homes and helping macaws learn to fly so they can live out their 80 years in the Louisana Countryside. The preserve also contributes to the community, providing free educational programs to students, participating at an event hosted by the Dream Day Foundation which provides a fun-filled day for patients of St. Jude and their families. They also worked to rescue flying foxes that had been orphaned due to the record heatwave in Australia. And while they were in Australia, the preserve donated to the Tree Kangaroo Rescue and Conservation Centre.

Ligon also stresses the fact that the otters are never forced to do anything so that their entire experience is completely positive. 

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    A lot of people on Facebook loved the idea:

    Text - Tina Marie I've been there and it was one of the best days of my life Stacee Schade If only i wasnt terrified of water. I love otters they are so stinkin cute. Sarah Mayfield Ford My sister and her husband went! So cool!! 1 Andrea Nicole Omg!!! I didn't even know this was an option 2 minutes ago and now it's top priority!!!!! So cute 2 Patricia Olson Awww so000 cute Patrice Weinmeister Oh my goodness!!!!
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    A few others expressed their concerns for the otters:

    Text - Nicci AD Please don't support human interaction, it is not natural to them and is just the thin edge of the nature/ human interaction graph with safari murders at the other end 63 Top fan Meghann Dotta-Kaner Something about this doesn't feel right. And believe me, it seems like it's cool at first glance. But they aren't accredited. And all that human interaction is not healthy for wild animals. I wish we could put THEIR needs first, instead of always being so selfish and caring only for o
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    Barn Hill Preserve decided to step up and clarify any doubts or confusion

    Text - Barn Hill Preserve Thank you for the article. We are a federally licensed facility, located in Ethel, Louisiana. Our facility provides a very limited amount of otter encounters per week with very small numbers of guests. We provide a home to many animals including a large group of free-flying macaws, which aren't caged and allowed to live out the long life in happiness. Our animals live in spacious exhibits and our facility is in a beautiful rural area with no noise pollution and lots of
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    Text - Ambre LD Barn Hill ignore the ignorant idiots. We are grateful for the work you do and the animals you serve. We are also grateful you educate the public and allow us to visit. My family visited today. 18 Julie Scagell Barn Hill Preserve thank you for your conservation and education
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