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The enrichment team at the Oregon zoo

Enrichment for Otters

Food - Otters feed on a variety of shellfish, crawdads, oysters, and sea urchins. They are known for keeping the ocean food chain balanced.

Familes - Male otters are very territorial especially in the breeding season, but females are very social.

Status in the wild - Otters were considered an endangered species because they were hunted for their thick, soft fur for the fur trade. Now, otter populations are slowly, very slowly, raising.

Location- Otters are most commonly found on the Pacific coast of North America.

Otter enrichment at the Oregon zoo-

• Plastic buckets to play with
• Rubber Balls to play around
• Rubber dog toys
• Occasionally live crawdads, fish, and shellfish
• Ice treats
• Shrimp wrapped in car wash strips and frozen in ice
• Hammock made from car wash strips
• Boomer ball filled with treats (see common enrichment)
• Training sticks for training
• Training- provides human interaction
• Carwash "kelp" for sea otters
  
  Learn more about river otters and sea otters.