smooth-coated otters arrived

Bauprojekte | 3 May 2024

On 26 April, a pair of smooth-coated otters moved into the almost 145 m² indoor enclosure in the new orangutan house. The two-year-old animals come from the Parc Zoologique de La Flèche and Planète Sauvage near Nantes, in France. The diurnal smooth-coated otters are about the same size as our native Eurasian otters. Smooth-coated otters are rarely seen in zoos – Dresden Zoo is the first and only zoo in Germany to play host to these playful predators. They are only kept by 18 zoos in Europe, and only eight of these have potential breeding pairs.

While the male, Ravi, ran straight from the transport box into his enclosure, female Diyala needed to rest after the almost 30-hour journey. But she recovered quickly and was soon exploring the sheltered section of the new otter enclosure. After a short time, loud contact calls could be heard throughout the building. To the delight of the keepers, the animals were very happy to be together again. Since then, they have been inseparable; the next day, they explored the entire indoor facility and its 1.30-metre-deep swimming pool. Once again, Diyala was the more hesitant and cautious of the two. Ravi entered the water immediately, while Diyala needed a little persuasion from her partner.

Smooth-coated otters are known to be excellent swimmers, and future visitors will be able to observe their underwater skills through a large window. The smooth-coated otter’s diet is 90 percent freshwater fish, of which they eat as much as a kilogram a day. They also like grated carrot and meatballs.

Since the otters are sexually mature, we would of course like to start breeding these attractive animals. The signs are good, as the animals have already formed a very close bond.