Wildlife Park Celebrates Birth Of Endangered Giant Otter Triplets

Three times the cuteness! Yorkshire Wildlife Park has recently announced "the surprise arrival" of rare giant otter triplets.
The otter pups were born on March 27 and have been cared after by the establishment's professional animal staff since then.
"The litter is the second to proud parents, Alexandra and Orimar, in the space of under 18 months and is part of the award-winning park’s ongoing conservation programme aimed at the protection of this endangered species," Yorkshire Wildlife Park noted in a news release.

Source: Yorkshire Wildlife Park

The triplets were born at Yorkshire Wildlife Park (YWP), which operates a conservation program to conserve the species.
The animal conservation and rehabilitation center in England, which is also available to the public, is currently home to nine giant otters. According to the statement, this is the most giant otters ever housed in a single zoo or wildlife park in the world. It's Yorkshire Wildlife Park's second set of triplets after welcoming the previous batch in February 2022.

Source: Yorkshire Wildlife Park

“We are overjoyed at welcoming a second litter of giant otters in such a short time. Giant otters don’t always breed easily and every birth is a significant and valuable one for the breeding programme." said Kelsie Wood, the park's aquatics team leader.

For the time being, the otter pups are primarily remaining indoors while their mother keeps a close eye on them.
"Meanwhile, Bonita, the eldest sibling, is taking charge of the last litter of triplets born in February last year so that Alex can concentrate on the new cubs," Wood said. "It is a real family effort! We can’t wait to see them all grow up together."

Source: Yorkshire Wildlife Park

According to YWP, giant otters are native to South America's Amazon basin, but their number has been quickly declining. Giant otters were threatened in their South American habitat due to poaching, deforestation and gold mining, a park spokesperson said. There were believed to be only about 5,000 left in the wild, a park spokesperson added.
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