OTTERS!

testimonial
jan Reed-Smith
Spot-necked otter, Tanzania
Otters are worth saving because
they are an integral part of their
ecosystem. And they also bring joy
and smiles to our faces.
Few people know that spot-necked
otters exist. Most of those who do,
routinely misunderstand them
and the role they play in healthy
ecosystems. This little otter can
easily disappear from most of its
range as a result of our ignorance.
They aren’t big and majestic like
elephants or lions but they are
charismatic creatures that evolved
to navigate the worlds of land and
water – how cool is that?
My first experience with otters was
when I started working with them in
1992 at a small mid-western zoo. At
the time North American river otters
seldom bred in zoos and I had a
female believed to be pregnant.
Her name was Minnie and her
mate was Potter Otter. One morning
while Minnie was moving from one
den to another she sat down and
began licking her tail area quietly,
not disturbed by my presence
or what I was doing. Next thing I
knew, Minnie and I saw something
brown and furry coming out – her
first pup. My heart jumped, I could
not believe I could be so lucky as to
witness the extremely rare event of
an otter pup being born!
From that moment on I knew I
would work to improve our care
and breeding of otters in zoos and
aquariums. This is what got me
started, 22 years ago.
Otters around the world need our
help because without it, they will fall
through the cracks and succumb
to habitat loss, illegal trade and
hunting. To me, they represent the
mystery of nature; they travel easily
through water and on land, they
have adapted to life on almost
every continent yet most people do
not know there are 13 otter species.
For me Africa’s otters are personified
by T Lightening, a Spot-necked otter
I watched over the course of his
first two years on Rubondo Island
in Tanzania’s Lake Victoria. Our first
meeting was when he was about
4 months old and hanging out
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