Oakland Zoo Oakland Zoo News

Article about River otter-birth at Oakland Zoo :
May 10, 2013
Otter Pup Trio Makes a Splash at Oakland Zoo

8652042907_409a63f87e_b

After successful swimming lessons and healthy checkups, three male River Otter pups are now on exhibit at Oakland Zoo. They were born to Ginger, on the morning of February 24, 2013. Each baby weighed approximately 0.3 pounds at birth or about 136 grams. They now weigh around 4.5 pounds. The pups are named Kohana (swift), Hinto (blue), and Shilah (brother).

8652044279_9511cf8327_b

8652044523_07b9df7f06_b

8653143278_505d328d30_b

North American River Otters are found in most of the United States and Canada. They enjoy a diet of fish, crayfish, frogs, turtles, and aquatic invertebrates. Spending most of their time on land, they are nursed by their mom for one month and are weaned at about 3-4 months. They then begin to venture out of the burrow/den to play and learn how to swim.

8653142440_06d2b55010_b

8653143118_34e1ffaed1_b
Photo Credit Oakland Zoo
 
While birth announcements are always exciting, here's something slightly more substantial for my neighborhood zoo.

From my 2012 Annual report:

Opening in late 2015 the California Trail project will transform 56 acres of the Oakland Zoo managed 490-acre Knowland Park into a dynamic living environment where visitors of of all ages can understand California as it was in the past; experience it is as it is now; and, imagine what it can be in the future. Through live and extirpated animal and plant exhibits, the Zoo will highlight the delicate balance between plants, animals, and humans -- and the impact of change on all three. The California Trail will underscore the significance of California as an international symbol of beauty and a land of great native splendor. Its abundant resources have shaped the people of California as much as they have shaped it. Good and bad; stewardship and destruction; the effect of man on this fragile environment will be exhibited in a way that motivates citizens to care about and for California.

Through this project the Oakland Zoo honors California's heritage through its most revered living symbols -- including the grizzly bear, grey wolf, mountain lion, condor, eagle, and the black bear. The California Trail experience will enable visitors of all ages and backgrounds to understand the importance of these and other native species, their fragility, their interdependence, and the need to care for them. Interpretive messages will focus on paleontology, ecology, botany, biology, conservation, and animal behavior and will be integrated in order to initiate an interest, uncover a passion, and motivate generations of visitors to action.



I can quibble, but I like the overall approach to the project. I'll be interested to see how the extensions work (especially the jaguar with that sidewalk in the way), and hopefully there's a good amount of verticality for the not so big cats.

My only real complaint would be that Oakland & San Francisco seem to be moving in the same direction, with the same species.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top