LeBron who? Eddie the Otter is unstoppable!
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Oregon Zoo is giving animal lovers a peek behind the scenes at some unusual sea otter rehabilitation that is equal parts too cute and plain awesome.
Sea otter handler Jenny DeGroot says one of the resident otters, Eddie, has been shooting some hoops as part of his treatment for arthritis.
An otter shooting hoops? In video provided by the Zoo, it looks more like Eddie lives for taking it to the otter house.
DeGroot said Eddie was taken from the wild in 2000 when it was determined he would not survive.
Now 16 years old, Eddie's otter age is more geriatric than high school varsity, but that's doesn't stop him from flushing stuff after stuff through his Blazers-adorned hoop at the Zoo.
Recent x-rays revealed the arthritis in Eddie's elbows. "The vets have recommended that we actually work those joints to help relieve the arthritis a little better," DeGroot said. "So we had to come up with a creative way for Eddie to use those elbows, and that's why we trained him to play basketball."
DeGroot said Eddie's stint in rehab isn't on view to the public (they may want to rethink that decision) and whenever he misses a shot, Eddie always gets the offensive rebound and a put-back - along with a snack.
Click here to watch the video!
Why not otter water polo? With seahorses
KPTV had penguins playing soccer
He's more accurate then any trailblazer...and no ink !!!
@Rob C 503Â I love how he doesn't even expect a treat until he makes the basket.. It might take a few tries but he shoots until he scores & then looks for his goodies. Â <3
Is this supposed to be the feel-goody story for today?
@jpk I felt pretty good after reading it.
But, perish the thought, he wasn't in uniform!
@jpk ~  Hey, I'll take animal stories (especially cute ones like this) over people getting shot, run over, or ripped off, or political cr*p, ANYTIME..!   :-)
What you describe, unfortunately, is NEWS! I thought that's what this media outlet was to provide. Sorry, but if I want to see cute animals, I'll watch the Animal Planet channel.
What a cutie! To your health, Eddie!
Creative way of incorporating the exercises with the rescued animals. Why not put it on display? Makes for a great discussion on animals and their "behind the scene" lives in the zoo.
They should have put him in the slam dunk contest. Would have made it watchable.
@Kushfan Do people still watch the NBA Allstar weekend? I think the last time I watched it was when Clyde was still playing for the Blazers.
@scoreboard I think the last one I saw is when Larry Nance won it.
@Kushfan I used to coach YBA (4th and 5th graders) and I attempted to block one of his shots....hahahahahahaha
Awww... WAY too cute..! Â Â Eddie looks like he's having a lot of fun ~ and enjoying his fish-snacks, too..! Â :-)
I've never liked basketball.. Football I like but never basketball.
THIS could win me over.. I'm a huge fan of Otterball..
CUTE beyond words! <3
@cwpholder ~ Hey, if they'd put together a team of otters playing basketball, I'd watch it..!  :-)
@cwpholder I liked basketball back in the 70's and 80's and even the early 90's, back when they actually played like a team. Now it's just a bunch of guys running around in the same colored uniform trying to get on ESPN Sports Center Highlights.
Eddie is adorable!Â
To answer the headline, it's LeBron James and I would rather have him on the Trailblazers than this rat.
@Oregon7812Â Do you like pulling the wings off of butterflies too?Â
That's quite a leap from what I said...
@Oregon7812Â True but he's far from a rat too.
Rats are nasty- otters are adorable..Â
Go Eddie!
He'll probably get traded to Miami
LeBron just had his contract renegotiated to include the payment of a fish after every hoop....
@WendyTeagarden I would rather watch otters play for an hour, actually.Â
@Playanekes @WendyTeagarden I'd rather shove bamboo shoots under my fingernails than to watch the NBA.
@scoreboard @Playanekes @WendyTeagarden  I'd just rather not watch any pro sports. Maybe if they got paid AFTER the season and dependent upon how they played and how much they benefited their team. Or do it like the old Native American tribes where the winners were treated like heroes and the losers...not so much. :-P