Odie the Otter| Part 1

Parents! Listen to this podcast, audiobooks and more on Storybutton, without your kids needing to use a screened device or your phone. Listen with no fees or subscriptions.
—> Order Storybutton Today <—

Your Next Step In Becoming A Critter Protector.
—> Critter Protector Starter Pack <—

Fun Activities To Do At Home After Listening
https://heymrjim.com/activities-for-kids

Become A Critter Protector And Get Your Free Badge
https://heymrjim.com/critterq

Listen to HEYMRJIM Podcasts

Kids Short Stories
Kids Animal Stories
Spyology Squad

About Mr. Jim:

Hi! I'm Jim Jacob, a South Carolina based creator. I started as a podcaster by accident. Our first real episodes on the internet were me trying to find a solution to help tell my sons stories as I was traveling for work. I recorded some stories and hoped that by uploading them to a podcast app, my wife and kids could have easy access to listen. What started as a fix for our family’s bedtime routine interruption has grown into a worldwide audience with hundreds of thousands of listeners. My wife Jocelyn and I have 3 kids and love inspiring others towards greater imagination and curiosity.

Welcome to "Kids Animal Stories," the captivating kids podcast where education meets entertainment through the exploration of the animal kingdom. Hosted by the engaging Mr. Jim, this show takes young listeners on thrilling adventures into the wild, diving deep into the lives of animals from every corner of the globe. Each episode of this kids podcast is a journey, rich with learning opportunities and fun facts that spark curiosity and foster a love for nature.

"Kids Animal Stories" is the perfect kids podcast for young animal enthusiasts eager to learn about the natural world. Through immersive storytelling, Mr. Jim brings to life the fascinating behaviors, habitats, and conservation stories of animals, making each episode an educational expedition. With a focus on being a kids podcast, it provides a platform where children can not only listen but also engage with the content, learning about the environment and the importance of caring for our planet.

As a leading kids podcast in the realm of educational entertainment, "Kids Animal Stories" combines factual information with engaging narratives, making learning about animals exciting and memorable. Whether your child is interested in the deep sea, the jungle, or their own backyard, this kids podcast delivers stories that captivate and educate, sparking a lifelong interest in wildlife and conservation.

Parents and educators value "Kids Animal Stories" as a resourceful kids podcast that complements learning with fun. Each episode is thoughtfully crafted, ensuring that the content is not only informative but also suitable for children of all ages. As a trusted kids podcast, it's an excellent way for children to expand their knowledge and understanding of the world around them, all through the power of storytelling.

Subscribe to "Kids Animal Stories" and join Mr. Jim on this exciting kids podcast, where each episode is an adventure waiting to happen. Ignite your child's passion for learning and their love for animals with this engaging kids podcast, where every story is an opportunity to learn something new about our planet's incredible wildlife. "Kids Animal Stories" is more than just a kids podcast—it's a window to the world, opening young minds to the wonders of the animal kingdom, one story at a time.

Send Mr Jim A Message

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heymrjim

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/heymrjim

 

Created and Written by Jim Jacob, Luke Bowman, Chelsea Bowman

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hello friends, it's mister Jim and welcome back to Kids
Animals Story. Said day's story is actually a very special adventure.
You see, Odie the Otter is a real otter that
lives at the Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest, Illinois,
with my friend mister Rob. Odie's story is so very,

(00:25):
very special and I cannot wait to share it with you.
Are you guys ready for today's otter adventure? Me too?
Let's go. The North American River otter is an amazing creature.

(00:46):
You see, when I think of an otter, I actually
usually think of an otter that lives in the ocean,
in saltwater. Well, the North American River otter is a
different kind of otter that lives often times in rivers, ponds,
and lakes. Fresh water otter. Isn't that amazing? Ha? Even

(01:07):
rhymes fresh water utter ha. Well, our story about Odie
the Otter begins in his den. You see, he lived
with his siblings and his mom in an under tree
root system home. Yeah, she had built an amazing den
underneath the roots of a tree right next to a river,

(01:30):
and so they could plump right into the water whenever
they wanted. It was a very very perfect place for
an otter family to live. Hey, mister Wilson, are you
in there? Shouted Odie. You see, in Odie's den there
was a very friendly wolf spider named mister Wilson. He

(01:51):
was very very old, but he knew everything, and Odie
loved to learn and hear all of mister Wilson's story.
Oh hello, lad Odie, how are you doing today, said
mister Wilson. Oh, I'm it's a pretty normal day. My
mom is out getting some food for us, and she

(02:14):
keeps talking about the days coming closer to when I
have to go out on all on my own. I'm
a little nervous about that, to leave the family. Do
you know what she's talking about, mister Wilson. Oh, certainly,
said mister Wilson. You see every otters when he gets
big enough, he leads the family and joins the raft.

(02:36):
I've seen it happen a hundred times, and it's a
very exciting time to be a young river otter. Yes,
you see, river otters they're actually pretty social. They love
to have friends and a group of otters you might
call them a raft. And that is what mister Wilson

(02:59):
is telling Odie. All about. Towards the end, the conversation
shifted just a little bit. Well, my little Odie, you see,
I've heard your mother to talk about some food shortages,
and I'm experiencing the same thing. It appears that there's
some kind of habitat loss around here, which that always

(03:23):
means less to eat. So I know that I'm actually
thinking about moving to a new place, and you might
be as well moving, said Odie. I don't want to move.
I don't know if I like new things. I've lived
my whole life at this very river. Oh that makes

(03:44):
me kind of nervous. Have you ever felt like Odie before?
Have you ever had to move to a new place? Yeah,
that can be pretty exciting or scary. But we know
that Odie's mom loves them very much and needs to
find a better, safer place to live, because if their
habitat is running out of food, that can be some

(04:08):
very big problems. After Odie was done talking to mister Wilson,
he did realize that his mom was gone longer and
longer looking for food. She didn't used to be gone
this long. Hmm, maybe mister Wilson is right. Maybe there's
something wrong with our river. Odie thought to himself. It

(04:31):
was very late that day, when Odie was almost asleep.
When their mom got back with their food, she tucked
them all to bed, and everyone fell asleep. The next morning,
their mom woke everybody up much earlier than normal. All right, everyone,
it is time to wake up. We have a very

(04:52):
big day. Oh why hugging? Odie was awning and was
a little extra sleepy. Have you ever woken up and
you feel like it's hard to do or understand anything.
I think I'm at least like Odie. When I wake up,

(05:13):
it takes me a couple seconds or minutes to finally
understand what in the world was going on. Well, by
the time Odie realized what all of his siblings were
doing and his mom had already left, he learned that
they were moving to a new den, very very far away.
All right, kids, where we're going is going to be

(05:34):
a much much better place. The food is delicious, and
there's lots of friends there. It's gonna be a very
great place. But it is very far. I've made a trail,
a scented trail that will all follow to get all
the way to this new place. And this new place
is where you will begin your next journey as a

(05:57):
grown up kid otter. Wow, it's pretty amazing that only
at nine months old that's when river otters can go
off and start their own journey. Wow. Can you imagine
your baby brother or sister at nine months old going
off all by themselves? Wow? I definitely cannot. But river
otters are absolutely amazing creatures. As they started their journey together,

(06:22):
they had to follow closely behind their mom. They did
not want to get lost in this big, big forest.
You see, otters can travel a long ways. They love
to swim through the rivers and can even swim up
to two miles in one day. But unfortunately, this road

(06:43):
trip is just that. It is not a river trip.
It is a road trip. The river that they had
lived on for their whole lives had started to dry up,
and something wasn't right about it. The water wasn't clear
anymore and just wasn't a safe place for these otters
to be in. And so their mom had made a

(07:05):
trail through the forest that would lead them all the
way to this new place. Over the past several weeks
that their mom had been traveling over to this new place,
she had been preparing the den for them, and on
her way over the past couple weeks, she had made
several different trails she was testing. You know, is this

(07:27):
the safest way for her babies to go or is
this trail a better way? And so they had to
make sure that they stayed together because it was going
to be very easy for them to get lost amidst
all these different otter trails through the forest that their
mom had made. It was getting late in the day.
They had spent almost all day on this very great,

(07:50):
big adventure. Odie was starting to get very sleepy. He
was the last one in their line that was hiking
on this trail through the forest. Oh can't we stop him?
So tired, said Odie. We're almost to a spot where
we can take a break for the night, said their mom. Okay.

(08:15):
It was right at that moment that something terrible happened.
Odie started sleepwalking. Have you ever slept walked before? Oh? Boy,
it can lead to some pretty silly things if you're
sleeping while you're walking. Well, this was not silly at all.
Odie was sleeping and walking and following the wrong trail.

(08:39):
He had been following one of his mom's old trails
that she had made several weeks ago that did not
lead to the right place. And that is when Odie
became separated from his family. He kept walking and walking
and walking, and all of a sudden laid down and
actually fell asked a sleep. Oh no, what in the

(09:04):
world is gonna happen with Odie? Is he gonna be
able to find his family? Or is he gonna be
placed on a new adventure, one that he was not
prepared for. We'll have to wait and see what happens
on the next episode of Kids Animal Stories. All right, job,

(09:31):
you listened all the way to the end. All right,
it's question time. Who remembers when you have a whole
group of otters together? What do we call that group?
Do we call them a squad, a flock, or a raft? Yes,
we call them a raft of otters? That is correct.

(09:52):
And do you remember are otters good at swimming? Yes? Oh,
they're very good at swimming. Remember the I can swim
ten miles in a day. That is pretty impressive. Well,
I can't wait to hear how this story ends on
the next episode. I'll see you there. Bye.