The cute quartet of Oriental Small Clawed otters are now out and about after spending their first two months being cared for in the holt by their mother.

 

When they are born, they weigh around 50g, are toothless, practically immobile and their eyes are still closed. Once their eyes open, usually at around 40 days, they begin to venture out and explore their surroundings.

 

Classified as vulnerable in the wild, the species hails from the mangrove swamps and freshwater wetlands of Bangladesh, Burma, India, southern China, Taiwan, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

 

Blackpool Zoo’s resident breeding pair, Barry and Jasmine, are busy showing the babies around their home and getting them used to splashing around in the water, as baby otters can’t swim until they are around six months old.

 

Jude Rothwell, Marketing and PR Coordinator at Blackpool Zoo, said: “We have been hearing the distinct sounds of baby otters in the holt for two months now and were very excited to see how many babies there were.

 

“Visitors and keepers have had brief glimpses as the mother and father cared for them in the first few weeks but now we are seeing them playing every day, which is a very welcome sight.”

 

The births are a real cause for celebration at the award winning attraction and come in a year where it has also welcomed its first ever gorilla, pileated gibbon and red panda babies.

The cute quartet of Oriental Small Clawed otters are now out and about after spending their first two months being cared for in the holt by their mother.

 

When they are born, they weigh around 50g, are toothless, practically immobile and their eyes are still closed. Once their eyes open, usually at around 40 days, they begin to venture out and explore their surroundings.

 

Classified as vulnerable in the wild, the species hails from the mangrove swamps and freshwater wetlands of Bangladesh, Burma, India, southern China, Taiwan, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

 

Blackpool Zoo’s resident breeding pair, Barry and Jasmine, are busy showing the babies around their home and getting them used to splashing around in the water, as baby otters can’t swim until they are around six months old.

 

Jude Rothwell, Marketing and PR Coordinator at Blackpool Zoo, said: “We have been hearing the distinct sounds of baby otters in the holt for two months now and were very excited to see how many babies there were.

 

“Visitors and keepers have had brief glimpses as the mother and father cared for them in the first few weeks but now we are seeing them playing every day, which is a very welcome sight.”

 

The births are a real cause for celebration at the award winning attraction and come in a year where it has also welcomed its first ever gorilla, pileated gibbon and red panda babies.