Michigan's Potter Park Zoo has announced the addition of three North American River Otter pups. Only one was born there, but all three will be raised together. Back on the morning of February 19, the zoo's Otter named Jilly gave birth to a single pup. Due to complications at birth, the pup, named Miles, is being hand-reared. His health improved drastically because of the quick action and continued care by Potter Park Zoo’s animal care staff. 

Then, in late April, zoo officials opted to adopt two orphaned Otter pups from Alexandria Zoo in Louisiana through the Species Survival Plan (SSP) of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). The siblings are named Bonnie and Clyde and were also born in February, so all three pups are the about the same age. Now Keepers and Vet staff are raising the three pups together. All three are energetic, playful and learning how to swim, and were just introduced to their exhibit very recently with their keepers all around them. 

Photo Credit: Potter Park Zoo

“Miles marks the first Otter pup ever to be born at Potter Park Zoo,” says Dr. Tara Harrison, veterinarian at Potter Park Zoo. “It worked out well to adopt Bonnie and Clyde shortly thereafter, because Otters are social animals and like to have friends to learn with.” 

Read more about the pups and see more pictures after the fold:

When it's a tenrec! Although the Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec sure looks like a hedgehog, it's actually a very different animal. The tenrec family comprises animals that look like hedgehogs, opossums and even otters, but are actually a great example of convergent evolution. Isolated from many other would-be mammalian competitors in Madagascar for millions of years, the humble tenrec evolved into many different species filling niches commonly occupied by a wider variety of mammals.