Jin the otter moves into new home
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16th January, 2008
Wellington Zoo Press Release via Scoop NZ
New Zealand’s most famous otter, Jin, moves into her new home
at Wellington Zoo on Thursday with partner Jala, announced Senior keeper
Paul Horton.
“We’ve been working on the otter enclosure - we’ve
fixed it up for Jin and Jala. Plus we had to make sure it was completely
escape proof.’
“There has been a big effort to ensure the enclosure is returned
to its original layout – similar to a river bed, the most suitable
environment for these fresh water otters.”
Four year old Jin, an Asian small-clawed otter, gained notoriety in
2006 when she escaped from Auckland Zoo and managed to evade capture
for nearly four weeks.
‘There has been a lot of interest in Jin and I’m sure that
the visitors to Wellington Zoo will be thrilled to get the chance to
get up close to this notorious escape artist.’
‘Wellington Zoo is part of an Australasian breeding programme
for Asian small-clawed otters and Jin and Jala came to Wellington Zoo
from Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch as part of this programme,’ said
Paul.
Asian small-clawed otters, the smallest of all otter species, are found
in the wild throughout much of Asia. They are classified by the IUCN
(the World Conservation Union) as near threatened - this is mainly due
to ongoing habitat loss and pollution.
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