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Tag Archives: otter

New River Otter for Denver Zoo

The Denver Zoo in Colorado has a new addition: a two-year-old North American river otter named Ahanu; a new friend for the zoo’s long-time otter named Otto.  The pair are now part of the Northern Shores exhibit and they’re getting along “swimmingly,” the zoo said in a media release.
Ahanu was born at California’s Oakland Zoo in February 2011 and arrived in Denver last month.  North American river otters in zoos live on average to the age of 20, the zoo said.  Ahanu’s arrival has put some spring in Otto’s steps. Otto, 15, lost his long-time mate Ariel in October 2012 when the 19-year-old otter died.

Otters tend to be playful, the release said, as a way to strengthen social bonds, practice hunting techniques and scent mark territories.  River otters are the most amphibious members of the weasel family and are physically well adapted for life in the water, the zoo said. They can swim at an average speed of seven miles per hour and stay underwater for up to eight minutes.

 

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23258755/new-river-otter-lands-at-denver-zoo

 

Happy Ottersday :-)

“Picked up a Hitchhiker”

While in Borneo, a local otter jumped into the car with a Australian tourist family and wouldn’t leave without much prodding.  The tourists seem more tickled than anything else; what would you do with an otter in your car?

At 0:45 of the video, there is adorable otter back-rolling, that is squeetastic, and not to be missed.

 

Happy Ottersday :-)

Playing Otter

This video was just published on YouTube yesterday from the Chester Zoo in England.  Otters love to play, especially with rocks; and this one is no exception.  He’s so cute!

 

Happy Ottersday ^_^

First Otter Spotted in Boulder in 100 Years

A motion-activated wildlife surveillance camera has captured the first documented sighting of a North American river otter in Boulder, Colorado, in about a hundred years.

“I was extremely surprised,” said Christian Nunes, a wildlife ecology technician for Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. “It’s a species that is quite rare in Colorado.”

 

The North American river otter  is classified as “endangered” by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, but that could soon change in the otters’ favor.   They’re planning the first state survey of river otters since 2002 on the Western Slope later this year.  Depending on the results, Odell said, the state could further upgrade the animals’ status to only “threatened”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nunes said the camera was set up Feb. 1 along Boulder Creek, east of the city’s developed core, near a beaver lodge.  The camera was equipped with an infrared flash, which emits a blinking red light, rather than a conventional flash effect.

“It actually sat in front of the camera for several more minutes, sitting there munching on the fishtail,” Nunes said. “Kinda cute.”

 

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_22928891/boulder-confirms-first-northern-river-otter-sighting-century

 

 

 

Happy Ottersday ^_^

Haku the White Otter

 

Meet Haku, a river otter that lives at the Sunshine City Aquarium, in Tokyo, Japan. Haku is special because, unlike her family of seven that live at the facility, Haku’s fur hasn’t darkened at all as she has aged. She’s an adolescent now at four months, but still has her white floofy baby fur. She’s super adorable, and will be interesting to watch as she grows up.

 

Happy Ottersday ^_^

Otter Equilibrium

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Otters are amazingly adaptable creatures.  They have a coat of fur that traps air bubbles for insulation, which causes heat to quickly be conducted from the otter’s body to the water, which creates a state of thermal equilibrium.  This would happen much more slowly in warm-blooded animals which didn’t have the otters’ special adaptation; that allows the otters to remain in the water for long periods of time.

 

 

A Little Science, for a Happy Ottersday :-)

 

http://campus.dyc.edu/academicsfiles/crowellbook/crowell02CL/sections/bk2d.pdf