What is your favorite otter exhibit?

Austin the Sengi

Austin the Sengi

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
This is the thread that is my unofficial successor of my “What is your favorite species of otter” thread but this time it focuses on the otter enclosures provided by various international zoos and aquariums.Let me know on what is your favorite habitat.
 
Austin the Sengi said:
This is the thread that is my unofficial successor of my “What is your favorite species of otter” thread but this time it focuses on the otter enclosures provided by various international zoos and aquariums.Let me know on what is your favorite habitat.
Click to expand...

Singapore River Safari’s giant otter exhibit is pleasant. You can view them from many angles, including an underwater tunnel where they zip overhead.
 
I like the NEW Zoo's exhibit. It doesn't have underwater viewing but it does look naturalistic.
 
The new St. Louis Aquarium is all kinds of... underwhelming. They marketed it as the next Georgia Aquarium, with massive tanks of whale sharks, manta rays, great hammerheads, beluga whales, penguins, deep-sea cephalopods, and more, and it has none of that. It’s really not worth the cost of admission, honestly, until it is significantly expanded. But it does have an excellent North American river otter exhibit, with plenty of underwater viewing. Definitely a step up from the St. Louis Zoo’s otter enclosure.
 
Los Angles has an amazing multilevel giant otter exhibit with a slide that leads into a large pond. There is also an aquarium between the viewers and the otters with piranhas and tetras.
 
The Maryland Zoo has my favorite for North American River Otters. The pond is very large and there is (closed for now) an underwater tunnel. It actually makes you feel like you are viewing them in the wild.

The National Zoo has a very good Asian Small-Clawed Otter exhibit, with ample room. However, it can get too cold in the winter for them because it is outdoors.

Philadelphia's Giant Otter exhibit is also very cool (with the seasonal slide), but is also all outdoors and can get cold in the winter (for a tropical species).

Atlantic Sea-Park (Alesund, Norway) has a very large and naturalistic exhibit for the Eurasian Otters (at least when I went in 2017).
 
Eurasian otters in Bern must have one of the very top exhibits. This is a large natural pond/tribuary of the river Aare fenced off. The otters can catch wild fish, if they swim in. There are also signs asking anglers not to feed fish to the otters. Surprisingly, otters are visible, and I had once a great observation of one collecting grass to its den with underwater entrance. It is really no different from watching wild otters.

Of the artificial exhibits (not every zoo has a river) I think I enjoyed most Hamburg, because of interactions between small-clawed otters and orangutans.
 
I disagree with Maryland from a visitor's point of view, because they're horrible at cleaning the glass. The tunnel is always so dirty you can't see anything.

Virginia Living Museum has a nice NA exhibit. Virginia Zoo's small-clawed is very large, with plenty of room to run around and swim.
 
Giant River Otter exhibit at the new Pantanal exhibit at the Houston Zoo. Opened recently on 10/10.
 
giantsquirrel said:
Giant River Otter exhibit at the new Pantanal exhibit at the Houston Zoo. Opened recently on 10/10.
Click to expand...
Photos? from the ones I have seen it looks nice but I need better photos to know

Also, I don't think there are any favorites for Southern Sea Otter exhibits as the best ones (Monterey, Pacific, SeaWorld) All have advantages and disadvantages and none truly stick out. If you know an amazing Southern or Northern Sea Otter exhibit let me know but of all the ones I have seen they are either good or below not outstanding
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top