Otter News Archive

Nature Center gets new otter

Read original. . .
Previous | Archive Index | Next

9th March 2010

Asheville Citizen-Time, Ashville, North Carolina, USA

ASHEVILLE — The WNC Nature Center introduced a new male otter at its "Otter Falls" exhibit today, according to a press release from the city.

The yet-to-be-named otter joins the nature center's female resident otter, Olive. Her previous companion, Oscar, died in December 2008 after suffering from a stomach blockage.

Nature Center staff said Olive and her new male friend got along well. According to the press release, after some quick sniffing, scratching and chattering, the two quickly took to running around the exhibit and in and out of the water, allowing the Center’s animal care staff to breathe a huge sign of relief.

“It’s never easy to introduce a new animal into an exhibit” the Center’s animal curator Allison Ballentine said in the release. “Our staff has been watching the signs that the two were ready to be introduced and we needed to plan a time when a lot of staff was present to help with the introduction.”

The new male otter arrived in Asheville in mid February from the Pittsburgh Zoo and was quarantined until he received a clean bill of health from the animal care team.

After clearance, the male otter was transported to the otter exhibit backup building where he first met Olive through a special “howdy” door. The door allowed the pair to see, hear and smell each other without being able to bite or injure one another. Once the animal care team saw signs that the two were not going to be aggressive, the decision was made to try the introduction.

The two otters will now be on exhibit together most days.