Meet Splash, America's First Underwater Search And Recovery Animal

His name is Splash. He is a 2-year-old Asian small-clawed otter from Florida who holds his breath for five minutes, locates human remains by blowing bubbles at targets and sniffing the scent back in, wears a custom harness, has helped solve a 25-year-old murder case, and will only eat farm-raised salmon. He is believed to be the only animal of his kind trained for this work in the country. Michael Hadsell, president of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue in Florida, spent 46 years in search and rescue before reading an article about otters' ability to track odor underwater. "If they can work odor underwater, we can train them," he told the American Animal Hospital Association. He visited Mote Marine and Aquarium in Sarasota, watched trainers work with otters, and realized it was remarkably similar to training a dog. Within months, Splash was learning in Hadsell's home pool, diving to locate hidden scent targets and grabbing his handler's mask to signal a find.

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The results speak for themselves. At just 8 months old, Splash located human DNA on a clay brick at the bottom of a lake, bringing closure to the family of a murder victim. He has since been called on more than 20 recovery missions. Bodies of water have long been places where remains are never recovered. Splash changes that equation. He works in fresh and salt water up to 30 feet deep, kept safe by a dedicated "Otter Spotter" team scanning for alligators. His best friend on the team is a search and rescue dog named Nova. "He's out there with the rest of them, wanting to do his thing," Hadsell said. "He's part of the team now."

Source:https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/splash-search-and-rescue-otter