Page 15 - Gateways_Fall_2022_flip_Neat

Raising Pascal

When Pascal, a North American river otter pup, was born
in THE SWAMP last January, he was blind, toothless,
and weighed only 6.2 ounces. Animal care specialists
noticed that his mother wasn’t making enough milk
to feed him and he was immediately whisked off to
the zoo’s Animal Hospital.
Starting about a decade ago, the care of baby animals
at Brookfield Zoo has been centered at the Animal Hospital
with the zoo’s veterinary technicians, said Dr. Thomas
Meehan, vice president of veterinary services in the Depart-
ment of Animal Health and Welfare at Brookfield Zoo.
Baby animals, particularly newborns, have a critical need
for warmth, calories, and hydration, he said. They often
require medical intensive care on par with that provided
in a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.
“Pascal was a difficult case right from the beginning,”
said Meehan. Since there was no commercially available
baby formula for river otters, Watts had to create a formula
with all the nutrition Pascal needed.
“Our staff, including all of our veterinary technicians,
were with him 24 hours a day.” Like Whitney, Pascal went
home with someone every night and received around-the-clock
feedings and care, said Meehan. He was kept in an incubator
to maintain an appropriate temperature; a portable incubator
traveled with Pascal to a staff member’s home each evening.
“Our veterinary technicians have the skills set—the ideal
combination of animal care, infant care, and critical care
background—to get these guys off to a good start,”
said Meehan.

BROOKFIELD ZOO | FALL 2022 15