[新聞] Baby Otters

本帖最後由 dxb 於 2011-7-15 06:44 AM 編輯

July 5, 2011

Cute, cuddly, and the smallest of all otter species when fully grown, six Asian small-clawed otter pups were born at the Santa Barbara Zoo on May 20, 2011.

Split evenly with three males and three female pups, this litter is the second for the zoo's breeding pair, Jillian and Bob. Their first litter of five pups, born last year, was also the first litter to be born at the zoo in more than 20 years.

Otter pups are born with their eyes closed and don’t open them until about 20 days after birth. In the wild, pups generally remain in their parents' den until they can swim and eat solid food.

In captivity, zookeepers will take the otters for their first swimming lessons and gradually allow them into deeper and deeper exhibit pools until they can fully dive and swim -- usually when the cubs reach 3 months old. The Santa Barbara Zoo plans to put these pups on display to the public sometime in August, after they've reached this milestone.

Asian small-clawed otters often live in extended family groups of up to 12 otters and also have a varied vocabulary of calls. Unlike other otter species, they're mostly land animals and don't have fully webbed feet. Their claws are particularly small (hence their name) and they only grow to about 2 feet long -- half the size of the typical North American otter.

Asian small-clawed otters are native to Indonesia, China, India, the Philippines and other parts of southeast Asia. They can often be found in dense forests near freshwater streams, rivers and creeks and play a critical role as an indicator species, with the population of Asian small-clawed otters representing the health of other species they share habitat with. They're considered seriously threatened due to habitat destruction, hunting and pollution.

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