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This week, the Animal Health and Animal Science teams at Zoo Miami performed quick exams of three North American river otter pups so that they could receive distemper vaccinations as well as get microchipped for identification.
Now weighing between 3.5 and 4 pounds each, the one male and two females have grown considerably since their birth on Feb 12 when they weighed less than half a pound each. All indications are that the pups are healthy and are continuing to develop well.
Zinnia, the 7-year-old mother, continues to do an excellent job of raising the pups. She arrived at Zoo Miami in April 2019 from the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island where she was born. She and the pups will remain behind the scenes for a short time longer until they are introduced to the public habitat in the near future.
The 9-year-old father’s name is “Edison,” and he arrived at Zoo Miami in October 2016 after being rescued as an orphan and hand-raised by a group called Wild Florida. He remains separated from Zinnia and the pups so that she can give them her undivided attention which would normally be the case in the wild as the males do not participate in rearing the babies. He can be seen on habitat daily.
North American river otters are extremely active and playful animals that are found in a variety of freshwater habitats throughout much of the U.S. and Canada. They can grow 3-4 feet long including the tail and usually weigh between 12 and 25 pounds with the males getting slightly larger than the females.
In the wild, they live around 10 years but can live twice that long under human care. They feed on a variety of aquatic life such as fish, frogs, and crustaceans, as well as eggs, reptiles, birds and small mammals.
They can stay under water for several minutes and have thick protective fur to insulate them against cold temperatures. They are perfectly adapted for semi-aquatic life with a slender body, a long flat and powerful tail, and short legs with webbed feet. In addition to being quick agile swimmers, they are also capable of running up to 15 mph on land.
Though their populations were threatened decades ago mainly due to trapping for the fur trade, their biggest threat today is due to habitat loss and pollution.
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