Cape Clawless Otter (Aonyx capensis)

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  Nix

• 6 Oct 2023

The second largest otter species and my personal favourite. The Zoo home is home to a single male who arrived from BayWorld in East London. There are plans to bring in female(s) but they're hard to come by.

 

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  SivatheriumGuy

• 6 Oct 2023

@Nix I thought the sea otter was the second biggest otter, I had no idea these guys were that large! I always envisioned them as Eurasian otter-sized.

 

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  Nix

• 6 Oct 2023

@SivatheriumGuy I’ve always been shocked by their size as well! Images don’t do them justice. They’re massive!
I have an image with the otter together with the keeper, will certainly help with sizing it up. I’ll get around to posting that soon

 

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  Nix

• 7 Oct 2023

@SivatheriumGuy This should give an idea of just how large they are:

 

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  captain alligator

• 5 Sep 2025

There are only a few zoos and aquariums in the world that keep these otters.(outside of Africa, there are only two in Japan and one in the United States)

 

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  Nix

• 9 Sep 2025

@captain alligator The one in Johannesburg has sinced passed away.

 

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  captain alligator

• 9 Sep 2025

@Nix By the way, it seems that the individual at the Metro Richmond Zoo in the US has also passed away, and the tortoise is currently on display there. (I think the ones kept in captivity in Japan are probably still alive.)
ID? Tortoise - ZooChat