 | asheville business & community directory |
|
The Nature Center’s resident otter, Olive, now has a new companion! On Tuesday March 9th, a new male otter (yet to be named) was introduced into the Nature Center’s “Otter Falls” exhibit for the first time. After some quick sniffing, scratching and chattering, the two quickly took to running around the exhibit and in and out of the water, allowing the Center’s animal care staff to breathe a huge sign of relief. “It’s never easy to introduce a new animal into an exhibit” notes the Center’s animal curator Allison Ballentine. “Our staff has been watching the signs that the two were ready to be introduced and we needed to plan a time when a lot of staff was present to help with the introduction.” The new male otter arrived in Asheville in mid February from the Pittsburgh Zoo. Before any introductions could occur though, he needed to spend a period of time in the Center’s animal health building, separated from other animals in the collection. This quarantine period is necessary to ensure that he is not carrying any kind of illness that could be introduced into the Center’s existing collection. Once he received a clean bill of health from the animal care team, he was transported to the otter exhibit backup building where he could first meet Olive through a special “howdy” door. The door allowed the pair to see, hear and smell each other without being able to bite or injure one another. Once the animal care team saw signs that the two were not going to be aggressive, the decision was made to try the introduction. “We spent a great deal of time researching information from other zoos that have otters so we knew exactly what to look for” explains Ballentine. “Since we are a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), we can call on experts from around the country for advice. This sharing of information helps us avoid a lot of potential problems,” said Ballentine. The two otters will now be on exhibit together most days. For more information, contact Chris Gentile, Director of the Western North Carolina Nature Center, at 828-298-5600. The WNC Nature Center is a City of Asheville facility and is a living museum of plants and animals native to the Appalachian region. Our purpose is to increase public awareness and understanding of all aspects of the natural environment of Western North Carolina through hands-on and sensory experiences. (Image provided by Western North Carolina Nature Center.)
|
