Otter Pups Are a First for Buffalo Zoo
March 30, 2014
Two separate litters of North American River Otters were born at the Buffalo Zoo in early March – the first Otters ever born at the zoo.
Nine-year-old sisters Daisy and Ellie are first-time mothers. The father of both litters is a seven-year-old North American River Otter named Rascal, who arrived at the Buffalo Zoo in 2012 from the Trevor Zoo in Millbrook, NY.
Both Daisy and Ellie are proving to be attentive mothers and are behind the scenes in their dens. The pups are still too small to be on exhibit, but zoo officials expect them to be outdoors within a few weeks.
Agile swimmers, North American River Otters are native to rivers and streams throughout the eastern and western United States and Canada. In the 20th century, River Otters were extirpated from parts of their range due to habitat loss. In other areas, Otters are plentiful enough to allow trapping. Reintroduction programs have relocated otters and reestablished populations in areas where Otters had been eliminated.
See more photos below.