PREVIEW

BY MARK WORGAN

Three giant otter pups have been getting their first-ever swimming lesson from their parents at Chester Zoo.

The endangered triplets, born to first-time parents Bonita and Manu, are now 15 weeks old and have been filmed taking their first tentative steps into the water.

Keepers said the young otters were introduced to swimming by their mother and father, who carried each pup by the scruff of the neck before placing them into the pool.

The zoo has also revealed the names of the rare litter, made up of two males and one female.
The two male pups have been named Uca and Yali, after the Ucayali region of Peru and part of the Amazon rainforest, while the female has been named Yara, meaning “river spirit” in Brazilian folklore.

Frazer Walsh, a keeper on the zoo’s carnivore team, said: “Bonita and Manu’s three pups have been quietly tucked up in a cosy den since being born. But now, at 15 weeks old, they’ve reached the age where they naturally start entering the water and learning to swim – with a little gentle encouragement from mum and dad.

“While giant otters look completely at home in the water, being born with webbed feet, a strong rudder-like tail and two layers of fur that keep them waterproof, even they have to learn the basics when they’re young.

“But getting them into the water for the first time is a real family affair, and parents Manu and Bonita have taken a 'thrown in at the deep end' approach quite literally - gently grabbing the pups by the scruff of the neck and popping them straight into the water! It looks a little dramatic, but it's exactly what they'd do in the wild, and it's working brilliantly as the pups are already finding the confidence to swim independently – which is just fantastic to see.”

Giant otters are the largest species of otter in the world and are native to South America, where they live in river systems across the Amazon basin.

Conservationists estimate that only between 2,000 and 5,000 remain in the wild, with the species already extinct in Uruguay.

Their numbers have declined because of deforestation, water pollution and illegal hunting.
The species is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Zoo officials said the birth of the pups formed part of an international conservation breeding programme involving European zoos aimed at safeguarding the future of giant otters.

The youngsters are expected to continue developing their swimming skills under the watchful eye of their parents over the coming weeks.