Birth of two giant otters

For the first time since the arrival of the species in 2022, two giant otters were born at the zoo! In early February our female Gata gave birth to the females Tayel and Uma after 70 days of gestation.

Tayel, Uma and their mother Gata © F. Perroux

Few zoos manage to breed the species successfully as giant otters are very sensitive to human disturbance when they raise cubs. The birth of Tayel and Uma is therefore a tremendous success for the park which has been holding the species for only 2 years as well as for the Giant Otter European Breeding Programme which currently gathers 73 individuals spread across 24 institutions.

Tayel and Uma © F. Perroux

To provide the giant otters with the calmest and most comforting environment to help them raise their cubs in the best conditions, comings and goings into the building during the first weeks were limited to the keeper of the section during very short intervals. The behavior of the pair with their cubs could be monitored from the first day after birth through video cameras installed in the nestboxes serving as dens. After about two months, the parents started to move the cubs outside the nest-boxes to the indoor pool so that they could get used to water and learn to swim.

The cubs and their mother in one of the nest-box © Zoo de La Palmyre

A few days ago, the cubs went out for the first time to the large outdoor enclosure with their parents and under the supervision of the teams. After a slight hesitation, the two young females followed their parents into the water and started to explore their new environment.

© Sébastien Meys

In the wild giant otter family groups generally include a breeding pair, young individuals from previous litters and cubs. Male and female breed once a year and litters include on average 1 to 4 cubs who are born after 64 to 77 days of gestation. Weighing around 200g and measuring about thirty centimeters at birth, the cubs are raised until the age of 6 weeks in a natural den located on the riverbank and called “catiche”. Weaned after 9 months, they reach sexual maturity at 2 years old but only begin to reproduce around 4 years old. The species feeds mainly on fish, up to 4kg per day that are eaten in water or on dry land.

The Giant Otter is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Its vital link with rivers and wetlands makes it vulnerable to numerous threats: pollution due to gold and oil mining, construction of dams and roads, overfishing and overtourism...

La Palmyre Zoo, via its endowment fund Palmyre Conservation, finances two programs that are protecting giant otters in the wild:

  • the Instituto Araguaia in Brazil which has set up its research center in the Cantão region and initiated the first long-term study of the species in the wild in 2010. It monitors ten groups of giant otters and protects the area from illegal fishing and bushfires;
  • the Association SEPANGUY in French Guiana which has started a detailed study of the giant otters’ population in the Pripris of Yiyi, a protected wetland that hosts a remarkable biodiversity