It takes a village to raise a child they say. Well a story comes to us now from Alert Bay in British Columbia, where it took a village to save one.
It was a retired logger and fisherman named Gordon Mellish who first rescued three baby otters, having been told by a neighbor on the marina that the trio were tangled in a fishing net.
A small crowd gathered around the man as he cut them free. The first 2 seemed unharmed, while a 3rd wasn’t moving. CTV News’ Adam Sawatsky spoke to the man about what happened next.
“Gave the heart a little pump and nothing was going on, so I grabbed it and picked it up, I wrapped my mouth around its mouth and nose and gave it a breath of life.”
Mellish has given mouth-to-mouth CPR on 10 humans across his years on the water, but never to an otter.
Coming out of the crowd was Robin Quirk, a local whose motherly instinct drove her to care for the revived baby, building a shelter from the Sun and birds of prey, and placing down a bed for it to lie on while expert advice was consulted.
A wild animal rescue center was a long drive and a ferry ride away, so Quirk cared for the otter in her car overnight before making the trip out the next day.
“You know how if you can’t get your baby to sleep, you take it for a drive?” Robin told Sawatsky. “Well, the otter slept the whole way.”
Arriving at the rescue center, the otter spent a week in rehabilitation, before returning to Alert Bay where both Mellish and Quirk were invited to watch as the baby otter returned to the water.
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Mr. Mellish relished the moment when, upon leaping into the water, the animal looked back and as he waved, nodding its head before swimming away. Subsequent sightings have confirmed that it has rejoined its siblings and mom, and it seems even to recognize Quirk—provided she whistles the lullaby she had made up in the car ride to the shelter.
Mammals have to stick together.
“A life’s a life no matter what it is,” Gordon said. “Try to do your best to save it.”
WATCH the story below…
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