As a young man Otter John
explored his wildlife interests by raising many different species
of monitor lizards. Raising wildlife seems to run in John’s
family. His uncle, Jim Mendenhall (a well known herpetologist in
Florida), has been a large influence in his life. John aquired a
wealth of knowledge while attending his uncle's reptile
sanctuary. He later joined the Everglades Herpetological Society
where he met and interacted with many well-known Herpetologists
such as Joe Wasilewski.
Otter John began his career with Parrot Jungle and Gardens, where
he learned the logistics of animal training and care taking. His
first role was as an animal trainer and show person for birds of
prey, small mammals, crocodilians, and of course parrots. John
had the privilege to work with Joe Wasilewski in his “Fangs
and Jurassic Jungle” shows (Big Snakes and Giant Lizards).
Otter John further expanded his Animal expertise by joining a
private wildlife company based out of South Florida. With this
wildlife company John wore many hats. He fed, housed, nourished,
trained, and performed with the entire animal team. The animals
included Leopards, Tigers, Cougars, Lynx, Bobcats, Monkeys,
Lemurs, Otters, Raccoons, Coatis, Kinkajous, Bats, Spiders,
Scorpions, Crocodiles, Alligators, Caimans, Cobras, Vipers,
Iguanas, Tortoises, Parrots, Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Owls, and
other animals. He traveled the Northeast, Southwest and Southeast
United States performing and coordinating live animal shows.
John went on to establish Wild Florida Production Company based
out of South Florida. He performs live animal shows regularly at
Everglades Safari Park. He also has been working on several
different projects, including film and TV documentaries about Our
Animal Stars. One of Otter John,s favored attractions is by far
his North American River Otters. Otter John’s three North
American River Otters are named AJ, Barkley, and Jobe. All three
Otters were orphaned from the wild and given to John when they
were pups.
The responsibility of sheltering the otters began with bottle
feeding every four hours until the otters were 12 weeks old.
North American River Otters are one of the most prolific swimmers
in the animal kingdom; but, this is a learned behavior taught by
their mother. Since AJ, Barkley, and Jobe’s mother died when
they were pups, John served as the otter’s daddy. He taught
the otters to swim, first in his bathroom sink, then later in
their natural habitat.
John does not restrain the otters when they are playing in the
wild away from their sanctuary. The remarkable thing is that the
otters free dive in close proximity to John at all times. A
well-known fact is that the river otters are extremely good
fishermen. During their outings in the wild the otters catch and
eat several fish on their own. Even though all three of the
otters look alike they each have specific traits that separate
one from the other.
A.J., the oldest of the three, is known as the real emotional
one. He can be the sweetest of the three; but, he can also be the
most aggressive. He will sit and lick John's face. Yet, if the
dinner bell rings and his food is not ready, watch out!
Barkley and Jobe are brothers born in the same litter. Barkley is
the most observant as well as intelligent and demanding of the
otters. He is the first to pick up on new behaviors, and the
first to test you when you are not paying attention. Jobe is
definitely the baby of all three otters. He requires constant
attention, if not from one of his brothers, then Otter John is
it. This is an extremely playful otter who enjoys nipping at your
face when he is excited.
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