Auckland Zoo welcomes five tiny baby otter pups

October 13, 2020

Auckland Zoo has welcomed five tiny baby otter pups, boosting their population to 13.

The Asian small-clawed otters were born four weeks ago and weighed for the first time yesterday.

Two other sets of triplets were born to Takumi and Kanan last year, the zoo says.

The pups won't open their eyes until they're around 40 days old and are currently spending most of their time in their nest box.

"If they need to get out and about, their parents will carry them by the scruff of their necks and if you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse of them," the zoo says.

"Our keepers and vet team will remain ‘hands-off’ with the pups until they reach around nine weeks of age."

At that point, zoo officials say they'll be able to vaccinate the pups for the first time and figure out their sexes.

While these latest babies are tiny, weighing in at between 372-423 grams each, they're not the first baby animals to be welcomed to the zoo this year.

In August, Auckland Zoo celebrated the birth of its first baby southern white rhino in 20 years.

That baby weighed in at around 65kg.

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