Posted February 9, 2021 in News
An otterly adorable family!
In August 2020 Asian short-clawed otter, Ravi was joined by a new companion, female otter Summer! After a couple of days of settling in it was clear to the Animal Care Team that the pair were smitten with one another, so it is with great pleasure that we share the news that the pair have now become a family!
After a gestation period of up to 72 days, Summer gave birth on the 22nd of November 2020 to a litter of six pups. The tiny pups have been staying in their nest under the watchful eye of mum and dad up until recently when they have become strong enough to head outside and explore! The Animal Care Team knew that there were pups but hadn’t had sight of them until recent weeks so were excited to see how many emerged from the nest! The pups are sticking close to mum and dad as they explore, both Ravi and Summer are doing a fantastic job as first-time parents.
Asian short-clawed otters, such as our new family, are the smallest of all otter species and have dark brown fur and cream markings often on their face. They have webbed feet and as the name suggests, they also have very small claws. Summer and Ravi are similar in size, with Summer being on the slender side and Ravi lighter in colouration. The 6 pups vary slightly in size, but are all doing well. We do not yet know the sex of the pups, but we hope to find out soon with their 12 week health checks coming up. It’ll be at this time we will be able to start to think of names for the pups but do share your suggestions in the meantime!
This species of otter live in rivers, marshes and shallow estuaries in Asia and are currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red list so these new arrivals are great news for the survival of their species.
We will keep you up to date on their progress over the coming weeks – watch this space!
N.B. Since our announcement, we are sad to share that two of the pups have sadly passed away and Summer and Ravi are now caring for a litter of four.
