19-year-old river otter dies at Garden City Zoo
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Lee Richardson Zoo in Yard Metropolis stated farewell to Ariel, the 19-yr-aged, female river otter who passed absent instantly Wednesday early morning. Necropsy outcomes are pending.
The median lifestyle expectancy for North American river otters is 12.3 years. Ariel debuted at the zoo in September of 2003 immediately after arriving from Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo. For the past two a long time, she and the male otter “Brighton” have been playfully entertaining and educating site visitors to the Kansas Waters spot of the zoo.
Workers say they are saddened by the decline but will don’t forget Ariel’s antics with a smile. Keepers will offer more enrichment to the male to preserve him occupied right up until a new companion can vacation to Backyard garden City. Lee Richardson Zoo will get the job done with the North American River Otter Species Survival Approach to establish an appropriate mate as quickly as doable. The NARO SSP is an AZA committee that collectively manages the animals within just the population in human treatment to retain the populace balanced, both equally genetically and demographically.
Otters are a member of the Mustelid or weasel family members. Other members of the Mustelid family incorporate skunks, badgers, weasels, minks, fishers, ferrets, and wolverines. Brighton can be witnessed in the Kansas Waters habitat following to Cat Canyon. Current zoo general public hours are 8 a.m. right until 7 p.m. day-to-day.
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