Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Sydney, Australia, calls it home to a family of Asian small-claw otters. The loss of habitat due to human encroachment and illegal logging, plus poachers hunting them illegally for fur, has threatened the species. Taronga supports projects throughout Asia to protect otters and other insects, and they also spoil the family of otters in their zoo. A recent video of animal enrichment shows the otters going absolutely wild over a bamboo branch. That’s all it takes. Look:
We saw this beautiful video for the first time on Boing Boing. I can not get over how the otters virtually swarm the branch. They play tug of war and it looks like they are trying to tear off leaves. The Taronga Zoo says the mama otter, named Jafar, wanted to try to catch bamboo material for nest material. These are the younger otters that played with the branch. Keeper Tarryn Williams introduced the whole family of six in a video from last year: Jafar, Harry (the father) and their four babies (one man and three women). The zoo chose Jafar to be the matriarch after she saw how much she loved her younger brother or sister. They knew she would be a good mother and expand the vulnerable population.
Taronga Zoo
This video is just the latest look at this family of Asian little-claw otters that are precious. In April 2020, the zoo shared another enrichment video showing the otters trying to peek at the leaves of a metal ball. They are pretty much trying to figure out if they can crack the puzzle.
And let’s not forget when a baby otter joined the group. We just want to cuddle this little one.
Awww! Otterly perfect.
Amy Ratcliffe is the managing editor for Nerdist and the author of A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, which is now available to pre-order. Follow her further Twitter and Instagram.
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