North American River Otters
North American river otters are known as an indicator species, meaning that their presence in a waterway indicates a healthy ecosystem. Since they are sensitive to the effects of pollution, North American river otters will only be found in clean, fresh water.
Join the Houston Zoo as we unite with zoos across the country to celebrate Otterly Mad Week, Sunday, May 30 through Saturday, June 5.
North American River Otter
North American river otters can have 50,000 hairs per square centimeter! The hairs are woven together to trap air close to the skin and keep the otter warm underwater.
Join the Houston Zoo as we unite with zoos across the country to celebrate Otterly Mad Week, Sunday, May 30 through Saturday, June 5.
North American River Otters
Otters are not born knowing how to swim, but must be taught how by their mothers.
Join the Houston Zoo as we unite with zoos across the country to celebrate Otterly Mad Week, Sunday, May 30 through Saturday, June 5.
North American River Otters
Otters have a very fast metabolism and need to eat frequently to keep up their strength. They can eat up to 20% of their body weight each day!
Join the Houston Zoo as we unite with zoos across the country to celebrate Otterly Mad Week, Sunday, May 30 through Saturday, June 5.
Otters in the wild spend 40-60% of their day foraging for food. They are carnivores and may eat fish, crustaceans, shellfish, small mammals, birds, eggs, frogs, and turtles.
Join the Houston Zoo as we unite with zoos across the country to celebrate Otterly Mad Week, Sunday, May 30 through Saturday, June 5.
North American River Otters - Ariel and Wednesday
North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) can be found near freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams all across the United States and Canada, including Texas. Usually found living independently or in small family groups, they are recognizable by their long, streamlined bodies, webbed feet, and muscular tails. Their short, dark brown fur can have 50,000 hairs per square centimeter! The hairs are woven together to trap air close to the skin and keep the otter warm underwater. North American river otters are carnivores and may eat fish, crustaceans, shellfish, small mammals, birds, eggs, frogs, and turtles. They can eat up to 20% of their body weight each day! Vocal, playful animals, North American river otters can often be seen scampering and sliding along the shoreline, as well as swimming and wrestling in the water. North American river otters are known as an indicator species, meaning that their presence in a waterway indicates a healthy ecosystem. Since they are sensitive to the effects of pollution, North American river otters are only found in clean, fresh water. Growing human populations and pollution have drastically reduced the size of their territories in many locations.
The Houston Zoo has two female North American river otters. Wednesday, age 14, came to Houston in 2000 from the Kansas City Zoo, and Ariel, age 17 months, came to Houston last July from a rehabilitator in Clearwater, Florida. Wednesday and Ariel can be seen playing, sleeping, and swimming together every day in the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo. Stop by and visit them during Otterly Mad Week, Sunday, May 30 through Saturday, June 5!
They’re cute, they’re playful, and they’re found all over the world, including right here in Texas.
So what are they?
They’re otters!
Join the Houston Zoo as we unite with zoos across the country to celebrate Otterly Mad Week, Sunday, May 30 through Saturday, June 5.
Started last year by the International Otter Survival Fund, Otterly Mad Week aims to educate people around the world about otters and their importance in the environment. There are 13 different species of otters in the world, and two of them – the North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) and the Asian Small-Clawed Otter (Aonyx cinereus) – can be found at the Houston Zoo!
Wednesday our North American River Otter
During Otterly Mad Week, the Houston Zoo is showcasing both of our adorable otter species by offering our guests special opportunities to meet the otter keepers and ask questions and to hear otter-themed stories. If you’ve ever wondered how fast an otter can swim or what types of toys an otter likes, come watch an otter training or enrichment session and find out! On Sunday, May 30 and Saturday, June 5, stop by the otter conservation table and put your creativity to work in decorating an otter-themed craft. By donating to otter conservation, you can also enter to win an original painting done by one of our otters or a behind-the-scenes tour to see where our otters call home. For anyone who loves otters, Otterly Mad Week is the perfect time to visit the Houston Zoo!
Check out www.otter.org for more otter information!
Spotlight on Texas
Ever wonder what animals you can find right here in Texas? Well, look no further! Most of the animals in the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo can be found right here in the great state of Texas. Some are here naturally and some you can find on farms across the state. Texas has a great diversity of habitat with lots of animals!
As you first walk into the Children’s Zoo, imagine yourself in the city. You will see a stream of Koi fish that are very colorful additions to many ponds and water gardens. This is also where you can swap your nature items in our Swap Shop. Of course where you find a great city, you will find a great forest. Winding through the boardwalk you will see Deer, Turkey, Owls, Porcupines, Coati, Bald Eagle, and Otters! As the Otters are enticing you to stop and play you will notice the nice coastal smell wafting your way. The sounds of the
Coati
shore pull you along the stream to the coast to watch our Pelicans and sea gulls get their afternoon lunch. Fish are flying through the air and our Pelican, Walter, is trying to woo the female, Mable, by giving her special treats. Next door, the fresh water Alligator Snapping turtles take you back to prehistoric times when reptiles ruled the earth. You will watch and wonder, “Just how long can they stay under water?” If you sit and wait, you might want to bring a book because they can hold their breath up to 50 minutes! As you wait, you see something pop up out of the corner of your eye. When you go to look, nothing is there! Everyone knows that patience is a virtue, so you sit for just a couple minutes and a prairie dog pops his head out to look for predators. These rodents spend a lot of time burrowing in the ground. Ever want to just burrow underground yourself? Well, you can get a fresh perspective by popping your own head in one of the viewing windows. By this time, it is pretty sunny and you see a nice cool cave. Through our cave system, you will see some of the reptiles and amphibians that make Texas their home. As you turn a corner to the second cave, you see a nice starry sky. As you walk through you notice some fluttering behind glass. At first you think it’s birds, but it is bats! These fruit and nectar-feeding bats are our neighbors from Central America but are representing the insect eating bats you can find flying our night sky
prairie dog
right in our backyard. There is a colony of around 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats in Bracken Cave, near San Antonia, that eat 250 tons of insects every night! Talk about pest control! As you wander out of the bat cave, you see a Swift fox. Don’t let it’s size
white tailed deer and Rio Grande turkey
fool you into thinking it’s a baby. These are actually fully grown adults. Next, you see the farm animals. These are all domesticated animals that many people raise. These are animals that you can touch! You may not be able to choose between the silly antics of the goats or reaching over to give our Zebu cattle a nice back rub. Either way, they have a way of warming your heart. By this time, you may be tired but the kids are still wild. Go ahead and relax on a bench while watching your kids have a grand time on the play ground or in the water play area.
WOW! Texas is big but you can see it all in just a short time right here in your home town. So next time you talk a walk through the Children’s Zoo imagine yourself taking your own personal road trip through Texas.
Nicholas Delinte has been here for four days conducting a “job shadow,” experiencing what it means to be a zookeeper. He is a ninth grader at the Awty International School and, of all the places he could choose to go in Houston for his career exploration, he chose the Houston Zoo. He is the only one in his class of more than 30 students that chose the Zoo – others are at restaurants or doctors’ offices, among other things. Why the Zoo?
“I’m not a big eater so I don’t like restaurants, and blood is not my thing, and I like birds, so I chose to come here.”
Nicholas on the job in the Birds of the World Bird Run.
In fact when his parents called to ask about the possibility of a job shadow at the zoo they specifically asked for a place for him with the bird keeper staff. These four days have included such real-life experiences as helping to clean exhibits and providing seeds and fruits to various birds. One favorite task was tossing fish to the pelicans.
Now that he’s seen a bit of what it means to work as a zookeeper, does Nicholas want to pursue the career?
“I don’t know if I want to be a zookeeper, but I think it’s interesting to see how the job works.”
More information about the Awty school may be found at http://www.awty.org/
