Want to interact with a cute otter? Fortunately, there are a few places in Florida that let you swim, feed and/or interact with otters.
The following is a list of otter encounters in Florida:
Discovery Cove:
Address: 6000 Discovery Cove Way, Orlando, FL
Website: discoverycove.com/orlando/experiences/freshwater-oasis
Established in 2000, Discovery Cove is an all-inclusive family resort and theme park in Orlando.
The resort provides a tropical atmosphere where guests can experience various animal encounters, including otter encounters, swimming with dolphins, swimming with sharks, feeding stingrays, playing with marmosets and more.
The otter encounter takes place at the Freshwater Oasis where guests can swim side by side with Asian Clawed Otters and also play with marmosets on Marmoset Island.
In 2022, U.S. News Travel named Discovery Cove one of the 33 best water parks in the U.S.
Discovery Cove is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is owned and operated by Seaworld Parks & Entertainment.
Giraffe Ranch:
Address: 38650 Mickler Rd, Dade City, FL
Website: girafferanch.com
Established over 20 years ago, Giraffe Ranch is a 47-acre wildlife park and giraffe ranch in Dade City.
The ranch features a drive-thru safari park where visitors can feed giraffes and see over 70 different types of animals such as zebra, bongo antelope, lemurs, warthogs, hippos, monkeys, pere’ Davids deer and more.
In addition to the safari, the ranch also offers various types of animal feeding experiences including an otter feeding where visitors can hand feed otters through the fence of their enclosure.
Other animal experiences offered at the ranch include ring-tailed lemur feeding, a camel mini-safari and a premium giraffe encounter.
In 2022, U.S. News Travel named the Giraffe Ranch one of the 20 Top Things To Do In Orlando With Kids and it was ranked #1 in Money Inc’s article on the 20 Best Things To Do in Dade City, Fl.
Giraffe Ranch is accredited by the Zoological Association of America and is owned by Lex Salisbury.
Palm Beach Zoo:
Address: 1301 Summit Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL
Website: www.palmbeachzoo.org
Established in 1969, Palm Beach Zoo is a 23-acre zoo in Palm Beach that is home to over 190 species of animals.
The zoo features animals such as alligators, bears, capybara, cougars, jaguars, panthers, tigers, monkeys, otters, sloths, lemurs and more.
The zoo offers an otter experience during which guests can get up close and personal with otters and take photos of them.
The otter experience is 30 minutes long and is available daily for groups of up to four people. Participants must be at least 10 years old.
In addition to the otter experience, the zoo also offers other animal experiences such as a tiger experience, a flamingo experience, a koala encounter, a tortoise experience and a sloth experience.
Palm Beach Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Margo McKnight is the president and CEO of Palm Beach Zoo.
Sources:
“AZA Accredited and Certified Members.” Association of Zoos & Aquariums, aza.org/inst-status
“Zoo History.” Palm Beach Zoo, palmbeachzoo.org/zoo-history
Johnson, Holly. “20 Top Things To Do In Orlando With Kids.” US News Travel, 14 June. 2022, travel.usnews.com/features/top-things-to-do-in-orlando-with-kids
Flyn, Liz. “The 20 Best Things To Do in Dade City, FL.” Money Inc, 12 June. 2022, moneyinc.com/best-things-to-do-in-dade-city-fl/
McCarthy, Kyle and Holly Johnson. “The 33 Best Water Parks in the USA.” US News Travel, 14 April. 2022, travel.usnews.com/gallery/the-best-water-parks-in-the-usa
