First, I want to apologize for the delay in writing this blog. With vacations and a busy summer work schedule, I hadn’t found the time to write. As many of you recall in my last blog posted, Otter Pup Takes a Swim, I had asked for any name suggestions for our Cape clawless otter pup, born at the San Diego Zoo on March 8, 2008. Thank you to all for the wonderful suggestions I received, and believe me, the decision wasn’t easy! Finally, after much input from readers and fellow keepers, I found a name that I felt was very appropriate for this little munchkin. It passed the test of being liked by my fellow keeper, who had been the one to find the pup on the day of her birth. We both think this name really fits.

Our 5-month-old otter pup is now named Kalila. This is an African name that means “sweetheart” or “precious.” Since her mom’s name is Sweet Otter, we felt this name was perfect, and of course we think she is just PRECIOUS!

So, what’s Kalila been up to lately? Well, she is growing fast, now about three-quarters the size of her mom and trying to act like a grown-up otter. She still follows Sweet Otter everywhere and still makes her loud squeaks that sound like, “Weee, weee” all throughout the day. This is normal for young clawless otters, and I’ve read that depending on how loud or soft the call is determines which emotion is being expressed. I haven’t heard much vocalizing from the adults, but I’m sure they have their own language as well.

At my last writing, we hadn’t been filling the exhibit pool all the way yet until we felt confident that Kalila could handle the depth. Well, rest assured, as of mid-June she has skillfully enjoyed a full pool where she dolphin dives, flips, twirls, and cruises every inch of it! Not only does Kalila navigate well, but she’s extremely playful. She likes to play with the leaves that drop into the exhibit and she rolls around with the various floating toys we offer. One day I witnessed Kalila grab her mom’s tail for a free ride around the pool. Another day one keeper saw her hanging on to a large 12-inch floating Boomer ball while mom pushed her around in the water.

In fact, Sweet Otter and her daughter are quite a bonded pair. Whenever mom wants to groom her baby, often times while swimming, Kalila simply goes limp like a rag doll and makes soft little cooing noises. Sweet Otter has also been teaching her baby how to be aggressive and go for the food. When we toss fish to them, Sweet Otter is the first to find the goods, with baby in tow. As soon as Kalila catches up to her, she screams and snorts while trying to grab the fish. Sweet Otter keeps the fish out of reach just briefly until she feels her baby has done her proud, then drops it, letting Kalila feel as though she’s won.

We also hand feed the pair of them in their bedroom area. This helps us get a close-up look at them. Here is where Kalila has adopted mom’s begging behavior. Both of them now grab at me through the bars with their chubby little clawless fingers. It’s quite cute to watch, and as much as it looks as though they want you to touch them back, they seem so disappointed when it’s my hand they grab and not some food. But, I really just can’t help myself!

Prior to this week, both mom and pup have been on exhibit. They enjoy rolling in the sand, catching naps under their logs, or joyfully swimming and playing to the amusement of many. However, the exhibit is currently unoccupied because we sent the girls up to our hospital holding facility to be introduced back to the male, Herman. Kalila had never met her dad, but reports from the hospital keeper staff say she seems to like him just fine. It’s mom that Herman needs to worry about. She’s still feeling quite protective of Kalila and has been “keeping Herman in his place.” It should only be a matter of time before she allows him back into the family group.

As soon as things are copacetic, we will be bringing all three otters back down to the exhibit, hopefully any day now. I plan to write another blog after receiving the otters back, so stay tuned for future updates!

Hali Anderson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Hear otter pup Kalila at three months old: [audio:http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/sounds/otterpup_squeek.mp3]

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