LANSING — Three newborn North American river otters are the newest addition to Potter Park Zoo.
“Three is kind of new to us because we only did it one other time and I was kind of hoping that was like a fluke,” said Carolyn Schulte, a Potter Park zookeeper. “But I guess (Nkeke) has other ideas.”
Nkeke is almost ten years old, and her and her breeding partner Miles have had ten pups together. They were selected for the Species Survival Plan, which is a program from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The goal of this program is to ensure “a genetically diverse, demographically varied, and biologically sound population.”
The pups won’t be able to meet their dad, Miles, until they’re about 12 weeks old. This is typical for baby otters, because the dad doesn’t have any role in caring for them.
“The mom does everything for them,” Schulte said. “She’s their food source. She keeps them warm until they can self-regulate. She hunts for them until they can hunt for themselves.”
Schulte said that they also won’t be swimming in the main exhibit until about 12 weeks, when they’re more confident swimmers.