Otter News Archive

Scott Shelley holds a baby river otter, called a kit, one of three born recently at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. TOM DODGE | DISPATCH Like human moms-to-be, pregnant otters can get a little cranky.

So Columbus Zoo and Aquarium veterinarians were ecstatic when Audrey the otter started fending off her mate's advances in January and refused to sleep with him.

Two weeks ago, their suspicions were confirmed: Audrey delivered a litter of mouse-size kits -- two females and a male -- right after breakfast.

For now, Audrey has them hidden away in a den in the North American wetlands exhibit where she lives. But starting this weekend, zoo visitors can see videos of the little otters on the television monitor in the North American aviary. The videos will be updated weekly when workers check and weigh the babies.

"They're doing great -- they're all fat and happy," said Dusty Lombardi, director of the zoo's living collection.

Otters aren't endangered, but births at zoos are rare, Lombardi said. The Columbus zoo has had North American river otters for years and tried to breed them, but babies were born only once before, also to Audrey. Three died, and a fourth was hand-raised at another zoo because Audrey wasn't caring for it.

This time, Lombardi knew what to do.

All about river otters "When they hadn't nursed after 24 hours, we sedated the mom, showed them how to nurse from the mom while she was sedated, and then woke her up," she said.

For the next day or so, zoo workers removed the kits every nine or 10 hours for weighing and feeding to make sure Audrey was successfully nursing them.

"It does take some time to make the connection between the mom and the babies, especially if the mom is inexperienced," Lombardi said. "It's very rare that 100 percent of the litter would survive."

A Florida animal sanctuary, though, is a star in otter reproduction. Flamingo Gardens in the Fort Lauderdale area has a gifted breeding male called "Fast Eddie" by the public and the "Sperminator" by the staff.

Wildlife director Mike Ruggieri said at least 33 North American river otters have been born at Flamingo Gardens since 1989. Most are released into the wild after becoming self-sufficient; some go to zoos for breeding.

Ruggieri said three females and two males live together in an exhibit that's about 75 by 28 feet. Unlike at the Columbus zoo, males and females aren't separated after litters are born.

"I let Mother Nature take its course," Ruggieri said. "My female will beat the male up. When she has babies and comes out to take a little swim, he takes off."

Here's what Columbus zoo visitors can expect to see as the kits grow, according to Ruggieri:

When they're about 3 weeks old, they'll open their eyes.
At about 60 days, the mother will bring them out of the den one by one and teach them to hold their breath under water.
At about 75 days, they'll start to eat solid food such as fish.
At 90 days, around mid-summer, "It's just a bunch of river otters playing."

By then the father, Babar, will be back in the exhibit. He'll return as soon as Audrey is feeling friendlier, Lombardi said.

And he'll soon be ready for action again. Otters breed for about three months in late winter and early spring, copulating in the water for three to five hours at a stretch.

But because otters are delayed implanters, the sperm and egg don't get together in the female's body until seven to nine months after breeding. Pregnancy lasts two months. So any new kits won't pop out until about a year from now.

Click here to see a slide show on the baby otters.

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