Asian Small Clawed Otter
I've always loved otters. They are fun and playful, they like to swim around in the water and cavort on land. As their name suggests, these are the smallest of the otter species, and live in Southeast Asia. Unlike other otter species, their feet are only paritally webbed and they have...you guessed it small claws. Their claws don't extend past their fingers, making their front paws very dexterous.
This picuture gives a very good illustration of the paws that give the animal its name. Their main food is molluscs, crabs, and other crustaceans. They use their dexterous front paws to break and pull apart their food.
Another thing I love about otters is their social nature and close family ties. This species of otter lives in family groups that include the ranking couple and several generations of offspring.
The ranking pair mate for life and ususally produce two litters of 1-6 cubs per year. The older siblings assist in raising the young pups.
When they're not hunting and eating they spend most of their time grooming their luxurious double coated fur. Because they spend so much time in the water, they have to keep their fur neatly groomed to retain its water-proofing. But at least these guys don't have to deal with the cold, like thier North American counterparts.
We have three young male Asian Small Clawed Otters at the KC Zoo. They share a inter-species exhibit with the gibbons. While the gibbons swing overhead, the otters swim and splash in their waterfall. They are all a lot of fun to watch.
Thanks for another interesting and informative post. Apart from the otters diet, I quite like the idea of their lifestyle. When not eating to spend your days grooming sounds great and I know many who would love to have built-in babysitters lke this.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for 2011 to you and yours Melissa.
Aren't they just adorable?!!? Oh they have the cutest faces and are just brilliant when on water and are just fab!!!!! Thank you for sharing the their stories here!! Will your zoo be getting any females??
ReplyDeleteTake care
x
I live right by a river and while we don't have otters, we have beavers. I love watching them swimming in the water and dragging branches home to their dams.
ReplyDeleteAngela @ the Bookshelf Muse
Good question. I hope someday we'll get some females, but it's all up to the Species Survival Plan. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association coordinates with zoos all over North America to set up breeding programs that provide the highest amount of genetic diversity possible. So if our zoo is chosen to breed Asian Small Clawed Otters, then we'll get females.
ReplyDeleteIt would be amazing to have a litter of these little guys swimming around.
FYI- they have a similar organization in Europe EAZA that the UK participates in.
Angela beavers are so amazing! It's unbelievable the way they change their whole landscape and create habitats for themselves and so many other animals. They're always on the go. I could watch beavers all day.
ReplyDeleteI love otters! When I was a kid, I wanted one as a pet.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love otters! I saw an episode of the discovery channel on day about them. Amazing little creatures!
ReplyDelete~JD
Holly-I used to want to take the whole zoo home when I was a kid. But an otter would make a pretty fun pet, if you could stand the smell and the crazy behavior.
ReplyDeleteJustine- I love those discovey channel shows.
Wow. What a lovely post. You make me want to visit a zoo now!
ReplyDeleteAww. I love otters. They seem like they really enjoy life--not a bad thing to emulate. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the otter exhibits too. They always entertain and active. I like when they float on their backs, chillin'.
ReplyDeleteI happen to love their diet. :)
I didn't know they mated for life and older siblings help raise the younger otters. I love this. Awww.
Happy 2011, Melissa!
Love,
Lola
I adore otters! Thanks for the great picts!
ReplyDeletemy fav thing at that zoo were the red panda/raccoon looking things.
ReplyDeleteAwww -- I love otters! ALTHOUGH, they did use to drive me crazy when I was working at a fish farm. They would come up from the river nearby to our ponds and feast their little hearts on bluegills... Le sigh!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this about Asian small-clawed otters -- I knew nothing about them. :)
We have otters at our zoo. I was amazed at how big the creatures are. For some reason, I thought they were much smaller.
ReplyDeleteOh they are cute!! I must visit the Zoo here someday soon, maybe outside of Winter though. ;) Happy New Year!!
ReplyDeleteAWW we love our otters too! We captured one of them on film at our local Zoo/Rain Forest doing something kind of *cough* shocking with his prviate parts-- that's all I'll say, but it still gives us a laugh!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the comment you just posted on my blog! and what a great one!!! Can I have your email so I can respond to your comments personally in the future? Do you mind? ;o) xx
ReplyDeleteMELISSA,
ReplyDeleteHAVE A HAPPY, WONDERFUL AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR WITH ALL YOUR BELOVED ONES, AND FOR MANY MORE TO COME AHEAD!!
THANK YOU FOR JOINING MY POETRY BLOG, MELISSA!!
GOD BLESS YOU IN EVERY SINGLE WAY!!
ALL THE BEST,
STARRY DAWN.
I'm totally curious as to where the zoo idea came from?
ReplyDeleteIt's way fun.
I've never seen an otter in real life. I've only ever seen them in documentaries. I don't think we have them in our Aussie zoos.
ReplyDeleteTalei- London has a fabulous zoo from what I understand. I've never been there, but I hear it's supposed to be beautiful.
ReplyDeleteChristina- I love it when the animals "show their private bits", especially when I'm talking to a big group of people! Ha ha.
Jessica- I e-mailed you my e-mail which is mgill0627@aol.com if anyone else wants it. I guess I need to figure out how to make that one easier for people to find out. I know there's a way if I wasn't so technically challenged.
Starry- Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year to you too.
Jolene- I volunteer at the Kansas City Zoo as a docent (part of the education staff). I love sharing about animals so I thought it would be fun to talk about it here.
They sure are adorable!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness.. they are so cute!
ReplyDeleteI've seen the exhibit at the KC Zoo a couple of times, but they are never very close to the glass. So when are the polar bears coming, or have they already?
ReplyDelete