Otter News Archive

Mill Mountain Zoo's newest arrivals: Lithe, lovely lady otters

The newest arrivals at Mill Mountain Zoo, a troop of Asian short-clawed otters, are adjusting to their new home.

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2nd March 2010

Kevin Kittredge

The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, Virginia, USA

Watching Mill Mountain Zoo's newest inhabitants is a little like watching a Disney movie -- one where all the animals are cuddly and want to play with you. You half expect Bambi himself to bounce in and join the fun.

The four Asian short-clawed otters, which are sisters, make cute little squeaky sounds. They stand up on their hind legs. They jump on top of things -- and sometimes fall off them like little klutzes, then get right back up again, quick as a wink.

If you squat down on the floor in front of their cage, all four come running up, and then climb over one another trying to get a better look at you. Poke a finger under the chain-link partition and they grab it with their rubbery little paws. It's sort of like shaking hands.

"They are very fast. They do everything together," zoo spokeswoman Lisa Uhl said.

"They're so curious," said the zoo's senior keeper, Sherry Barlet. "If one comes over and grabs our shoelaces, they all come over and grab our shoelaces.

"They're being super cute right now," she added, as the otters scampered about.

Short-clawed otters, also known as small-clawed otters, are found in southern India and China, Indonesia, New Guinea and the Philippines, according to indonesianfauna.com. Their life span in the wild is about 10 years. They eat seafood, including shellfish, which they capture with sensitive paws that are slightly webbed and resemble hands.

The otters communicate using at least 12 different vocalizations -- when they get excited, they squeak like a squeeze toy, Barlet said. They live near freshwater streams and creeks and coastal regions, and travel in family groups of up to a dozen. At maturity they are about 2 feet long, including their 8-inch tails, and weigh up to 12 pounds.

Mill Mountain's young otters just finished their monthlong quarantine period. They came from the Bronx Zoo and are part of a breeding program, zoo director and general curator David Orndorff said last week. At some point males could be brought in as well, or else some of the sisters could be sent away temporarily, to create breeding pairs.

The otters are currently housed in the zoo's quarantine facility, which is also used as winter quarters. The zoo plans to build a new, permanent Asian exhibit for the otters and other Asian wildlife, including porcupines and hornbills, Uhl said.

That exhibit, to be completed this spring, will include a pond with an underwater viewing area so visitors can watch the otters swim and play. Orndorff said the new exhibit will be funded by an anonymous donor. He declined to say what it will cost.

The zoo's new otters do not have names yet, Uhl said. Zoo fans can become adoptive parents of an otter for one year and also win permanent naming rights with a $500 sponsorship. Uhl said interested folks can contact her for details.

The zoo, which has been closed for most of the winter because of weather, is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays until April 1. The zoo will return to its seven-days-a-week schedule after that, Uhl said.