The newest addition to The Living
Planet Aquarium is the North American River Otter exhibit. These
playful and curious creatures are so captivating that you may not pay
much attention to their carefully-designed habitat. Two months and
much thought and creativity went into building the perfect home for
the otters.
Aquarium staff used many resources of
information to help them with this huge task. The Association of
Zoos and Aquariums sets standards for animal welfare and management,
including very specific and detailed information about how exhibits
should be designed for different animal species. Utilizing these
guidelines along with examples from other aquariums and organizations
that have river otters, the staff designed a safe, appealing, and
engaging habitat.
To make sure the otters felt at home,
the exhibit was designed with natural otter habitat and behavior, as
well as their safety, in mind. The exhibit has about a three-to-one
ratio of land to water, a good mixture for otters. Since otters love
to swim, a variety of water areas were provided, including a stream,
two pools of different sizes, and a log slide. To prevent standing
water, which can harbor bacteria, all water areas are filtered and
the entire exhibit slopes downward toward a floor drain. Rocks, made
of Styrofoam and concrete, provide places for the otters to climb.
Real logs, leaves, bark, and river rocks are plentiful in the
exhibit, natural touches that help make this truly a home for the
otters.
A major consideration when designing
the exhibit was how to make it guest-friendly. The largest pool and
the stream were placed next to the viewing windows in the hopes that
the otters would show off their water play to visitors. A pop-up
window provides visitors with an up-close-and-personal experience,
and the otters don't seem to mind. In fact, they've claimed that
area as a favorite place to snooze.
The otters are settling in to their new
home very well. They've explored every area, climbing all over the
rocks and swimming in every pool. They love to sleep in the piles of
bark and leaves. The only thing they have not yet mastered is the
log slide. The otters will walk up and down the log, but haven't
quite figured out what it's designed for. The staff is hopeful that
one day they will. In the meantime, the otters have found many other
ways to entertain themselves and visitors in their new home at the
aquarium.
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| Photo courtesy of Long Island Aquarium & Exhibit Center, Riverhead, NY |
While they get accustomed to their new
surroundings, The Living Planet Aquarium is conducting a naming
contest for our three new residents. Cast your vote between March
18th and April 15th by visiting
www.thelivingplanet.com.
The river otter exhibit is made possible by
