Otters vs. Meerkats

Are giant otters common in captivity? I've mostly seen North American river otters and a few tropical species here and there. Point Defiance is the only place I've seen sea otters.
 
elefante said:
Are giant otters common in captivity? I've mostly seen North American river otters and a few tropical species here and there. Point Defiance is the only place I've seen sea otters.
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Giant otters are definitely expanding their presence in North American and European zoos. In North America you can now find them in Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Miami, the Dallas World Aquarium, Moody Gardens, and Los Angeles. They are in several European zoos including Chester in the UK and Lepizig Zoo in Germany.
 
Oregon Zoo exhibits both sea and river otter.
They have also phased out their meerkats and have taken on African porcupines instead.

Kind of amazed to see that otters outnumber meerkats in zoos.
 
Most zoos I have visited have at least one otter species.
Columbus has two- river and small-clawed, and Erie and Akron have river otters, the latter in a fantastic enclosure.
 
Out of all the AZA zoos (including ones in Canada, Mexico, etc.), here is a list of how many zoos hold each otter species:
  • Only 1 zoo (San Diego) still houses African Clawless Otter.
  • 31 collections house Asian Small-Clawed Otter.
  • 8 collections house Giant Otters.
  • A whopping 101 zoos and aquariums house North American River Otters.
  • 14 collections have Sea Otters.
  • And 6 zoos have Spotted-Necked Otters.
 
Eh, I guess when you consider that there are multiple species of otter and only one species of meerkat, it's not TOO surprising that otters outnumber them. There are a few otter species native to the US, so a number of zoos and aquariums take them in as rescue animals if they can't be released into the wild. I imagine that would result in higher numbers. Of course, otters are popular animals in general, they're basically a "stock" zoo animal, something every place "has to have".
 
BeardsleyZooFan said:
Out of all the AZA zoos (including ones in Canada, Mexico, etc.), here is a list of how many zoos hold each otter species:
  • Only 1 zoo (San Diego) still houses African Clawless Otter.
  • 31 collections house Asian Small-Clawed Otter.
  • 8 collections house Giant Otters.
  • A whopping 101 zoos and aquariums house North American River Otters.
  • 14 collections have Sea Otters.
  • And 6 zoos have Spotted-Necked Otters.
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When you say AZA zoos including ones in Canada did you count in Toronto's animals? The zoos isnt part of the AZA currently but is still allowed to participate in SSP's at least until the end of the year when the two year period to fix the governance mess expires.
 
TZFan said:
When you say AZA zoos including ones in Canada did you count in Toronto's animals? The zoos isnt part of the AZA currently but is still allowed to participate in SSP's at least until the end of the year when the two year period to fix the governance mess expires.
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I didn't count Toronto's animals, as Toronto isn't part of the AZA, despite their participating in the SSP. If I counted Toronto, it would give both North American River Otters and Spotted-Necked Otters an extra zoo.
 
Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina just added a new exhibit (Otter Run) and Cincinnati Zoo now has meerkats. A fresh look at the statistics of America's top 60 zoos (according to the Nyhuis/Wassner book America's Best Zoos):

Otters: There are 53 out of the top 60 zoos with at least one otter species, and the 7 zoos that lack otters are: Binder Park, Gladys Porter, Honolulu, Louisville, Nashville, Rio Grande and San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Meerkats: There are 49 out of the top 60 zoos with meerkats, and the 11 zoos that lack the species are: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Audubon, Binder Park, Bronx, Fort Wayne, Jacksonville, Maryland, Montgomery, North Carolina, Roger Williams Park and San Antonio.

Overall, there are some big-name zoos that surprisingly lack meerkats, but only a single zoo (Binder Park) without either meerkats or otters.
 
I think the number of top 60 zoos without meerkats may be 12, not 11, unless the Columbus Zoo is holding meerkats off-exhibit (there are no currently announced plans for adding meerkats that I know of, though at one point, meerkats were mentioned for the Heart of Africa).
 
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