Rockhampton Zoo Rockhampton Zoo news

Jabiru96 · 14 Nov 2014

(Apart from the attempt to acquire two chimpanzees from Israel mentioned in another thread)

Rockhampton will receive two Asia short-clawed otters from Taronga Zoo in December: Otters to call Rockhampton Zoo home - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
AFAIK, Taronga has 2.1 (all siblings) so it might be the two brothers going to Rockhampton ('Houdini' and 'Soa'). The otters will share an exhibit with lion tailed macaque.

zooboy28 · 16 Dec 2014

Article about the arrival of two male otters from Taronga.

Photos and stories here: Otters settle into new home at Rockhampton Zoo - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The Rockhampton Zoo in central Queensland has added two otters to its collection, with 13-year-old brothers Soa and Houdini transferred from Sydney's Taronga Zoo.

About 100 children and their parents turned out for the opening of the new otter exhibit this morning.

The pair are short-clawed Asian otters, which are the smallest species of otters.

Zoo life sciences coordinator Graham Strachan said the pair were very mischievous.

"Soa is the more dominant one - he's the one who's a bit of a guardian, so you've got to watch him - he's still getting used to us," Mr Strachan said.

"Houdini, he kind of just follows [Soa] along - he's more relaxed, but they're both lots of fun, very active.

"Otters can live probably until their mid-20s - they are reaching the later years of their life but still hopefully [have] a lot of years ahead of them."
Hope for breeding program

Short-clawed Asian otters are also considered a vulnerable species, so the zoo will work with international experts to ensure their longevity.

Mr Strachan said the zoo hoped the pair would eventually take part in a breeding program.

"We have built the enclosure with the idea that later on we'll be doing some breeding and it'll be a suitable area for little otters," he said.

"Generally say people so 'oh you can't have otters in Rockhampton, it's too hot', because they think they're in the sea or in northern Europe or America, but these otters actually live in the jungles of South-East Asia so they're going to be right at home here."

The otters were born and raised at Taronga Zoo.

They were fed eight times a day as they had high metabolic rates and were constantly on the move.

The pair's favourite food was mice and guppies, rainbow fish.

Rockhampton Councillor Cherie Rutherford said she was excited to see the city's zoo growing.

"Our otters are a fantastic addition who are sure to delight all visitors to our region and zoo," she said.

"We will be welcoming Soa and Houdini with cake and cordial and kids can enjoy fun activities and talks with our zoo keepers."
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Rockhampton Zoo Rockhampton Zoo news

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