Update on New Otters

We have been working very hard to introduce our two orphaned otters to their new social groups.  Smell is very important to North American River Otters.  In the wild, otters visit latrine areas and smell what is going on with other otter groups.  The first step in introducing two otters is often switching bedding and toys between the two otters.  The next step is visiting hours!  Zookeepers place the otters where they can see each other, but not interact too closely.  When they are ready, we place them in two adjacent areas that are seperated by small mesh.  This step often takes the longest, and sometimes the otters can only handle 15 minutes with their new acquaintance.  Next, we open the door for a "full introduction".

I'm pleased to announce that our new male has made good friends with our three young males.  They are currently on our outdoor tidal exhibit, and we hope to try him in River Basin Retreat next week.  If you see a group of four otters, he is the smallest!

Unrelated female otters are more difficult to introduce.  They take a lot more time, and sometimes the females never make friends.  Our new young female was unusually easy to mix with our older female, the mother of our otter triplets in 2011.  We think that she feels a bit motherly toward the young otter.  Now, we just need to introduce our older male to the two females!   If you see one otter in an exhibit, it is our older male.  We work on his introduction to the females at night, and we hope to have the three of them on exhibit very soon.

Otter Pile!  These pictures are from our last group of four otters

- our oldest female and her three triplets.