Female otter Cleo now lives at Zurich Zoo
Published: Wednesday, Jun 19th 2024, 10:51
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Female otter Cleo recently moved into Zurich Zoo. Getting to know her conspecific Tom has gone well. The once widespread European otter is now rarely seen in the wild in Central Europe.
The newcomer Cleo hissed at Tom, who has been living at Zurich Zoo for some time, when they first met, as the zoo announced on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the two have since become closer and Cleo has already visited Tom in his den.
Before meeting Tom, Cleo, who came to Zurich from the Danish Aqua freshwater aquarium and zoo, explored her new home alone for a few days. This was mainly at night, as otters are crepuscular and nocturnal.
The otter has been considered extinct in Switzerland since 1989. At the beginning of the 1950s, its population was still estimated at around 150 specimens. For a long time, it was a nuisance to fishermen in particular and was hunted intensively. River engineering reduced its habitat.
Individual otters are back
In the meantime, individual animals have migrated back into Switzerland via rivers. Evidence of this has been found mainly in Ticino, on the Aare, the Hinterrhein, the Rhone and the Inn. However, a stable population has not yet been established.
And this is where Cleo and Tom come into play: Their offspring could one day help to strengthen the population in the wild by releasing them into the wild. To ensure that this really works, the otters at the zoo are fed live fish. After all, only otters that can hunt survive in the wild. The young animals learn the technique from their parents. Live feeding is not permitted for most of the other animals in the zoo.
Dense and almost waterproof coat
The otter's fur is also extremely important. It has the densest fur of all. Between 50,000 and 70,000 hairs grow on one square centimeter - that's around 350 times more than in humans.
However, their fur is not only very dense, but also virtually waterproof thanks to countless sebaceous glands. Water runs off the oily top coat and the soft undercoat protects the animals from the cold.
©Keystone/SDA
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