- Asiatic lion
- Aye-aye
- Black howler monkey
- Black lion tamarin
- Black rat
- Brown rat, Norway rat
- Brush-tailed bettong
- Capybara
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- De Brazza's Monkey
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- Goeldi's monkey
- Giant jumping rat
- Golden-headed lion tamarin
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- Javan langur
- Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, Bandro
- Lion-tailed macaque
- Livingstone's fruit bat
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- North American river otter
- Okapi
- Owl monkey
- Pygmy hippopotamus
- Pygmy slow loris
- Red panda
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- Ring-tailed lemur
- Sand cat
- Slender-tailed meerkat
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- Southern pudu
- Spiny mouse
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- Western lowland gorilla
North American river otter
Scientific name: Lontra canadensis
Country: USA, Canada
Continent: Central & North America
Diet: Fish - piscivore, crustaceans - crustacivore, frogs - ranivore, also rodents and worms.
Food & feeding: Carnivore
Habitats: Fresh water, coast
Conservation status: Not Threatened
Relatives: Sea Otter, Skunk, Weasel
Description: This species of otter is one of the largest, growing up to 1.5 m long (including the tail) and weighing up to 11 kg. The male (dog) otter is larger than the female (bitch). The otter's body is streamlined and the feet are webbed so they are well adapted for swimming. When they go underwater their nostrils and ears close. Their stiff whiskers are used to feel around as they search for food. When swimming on the surface, legs are used to perform a doggy-paddle, but when hunting underwater, the legs are folded close against the body and forward motion is powered instead by undulating the body and tail, just like a seal.
Lifestyle: In the wild they spend a lot of time foraging for food, so in the Zoo food is often hidden in different parts of the enclosure so they have to search for it as they would in the wild. They are mostly active early in the morning or late afternoon. They dive in pursuit of fish, dragging bigger ones to the bank to eat. They can remain beneath the water for upwards of a minute.
Family & friends: Female otters rear their young without help from the male (dog) otter. Otters are territorial, each defending a section of prime river bank or coast.
Keeping in touch: Otters use anal glands to mark their territory so that other otters know who they are. They deposit special piles of excrement scented with anal gland smells, usually on top of a prominent rock or log, along the river bank or shoreline.
Growing up: Otters usually give birth about two months after mating, but the female otter can delay the time when the fertilised egg begins to develop into a baby by up to nine months (this is called delayed implantation). The young are usually born in an abandoned musk rat burrow. Usually two or three young are born in early April, but litters range from one to five and are sometimes born as early in the year as January. The babies weigh about 100-200 g at birth, are weaned at 3-4 months and become sexually mature in their second or third year. In captivity, they may live up to 22 years of age.
In some parts of the world, tame otters are trained to herd shoals of fish into fishermen's nets. King James I of England also kept a pack of tame otters for this purpose!
Conservation news: The North American river otter is not listed as an endangered species at the moment, but all otters are vulnerable to pollution, habitat loss (including drainage) and hunting. Over 30,000 otter skins (called pelts) are sold in the US and Canada every year. The Eurasian river otter (found in Europe, Asia and North Africa) is declining throughout its range and is protected by law throughout the UK.
