Giant Otter in CONNECT

CONNECT is the monthly magazine of the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). In March, the giant otter was featured on the cover in an announcement about the species being displayed in a new exhibit at the Miami Metrozoo's Amazon & Beyond exhibit. Miami is only the fourth American facility to hold the charismatic giant otters, after the Philadelphia Zoo, the Dallas World Aquarium, and the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.

The $50 million dollar project, now finished after two years of construction, showcases jaguars, howler monkeys, hummingbirds, Orinoco crocodiles, harpy eagles, giant anteaters, and fruit bats on 27 acres, which is divided into three sections -- Cloud Forest, the Amazon Forest, and the Atlantic Forest.

Otter in the Tube!

These three giant otters are enjoying taking turns in a carpet tube given as "enrichment." They are brothers, of two different litters, born at the Philadelphia Zoo, and placed on loan to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. After these photographs were taken, one of the siblings was transferred to the Dallas World Aquarium, to be paired with a female for breeding.

Giant otters love tight spaces, the more cramped the better. When I visited the Philadelphia Zoo in 2007, the staff showed off a small wooden box, about two feet on each side. They said that it was amazing that all of their giant otters -- parents, and cubs from both litters -- would crowd into the den to sleep.

Photos by M. Beshel