WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Lee Richardson Zoo in Yard City said farewell to Ariel, the 19-year-previous, woman river otter who handed away all of a sudden Wednesday morning. Necropsy results are pending.
The median lifestyle expectancy for North American river otters is 12.3 yrs. Ariel debuted at the zoo in September of 2003 immediately after arriving from Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo. For the last two several years, she and the male otter “Brighton” have been playfully entertaining and educating website visitors to the Kansas Waters location of the zoo.
Team say they are saddened by the loss but will try to remember Ariel’s antics with a smile. Keepers will give extra enrichment to the male to maintain him occupied until finally a new companion can vacation to Garden City. Lee Richardson Zoo will work with the North American River Otter Species Survival Strategy to detect an acceptable mate as quickly as doable. The NARO SSP is an AZA committee that collectively manages the animals inside of the inhabitants in human treatment to hold the population healthy, each genetically and demographically.
Otters are a member of the Mustelid or weasel relatives. Other members of the Mustelid loved ones include things like skunks, badgers, weasels, minks, fishers, ferrets, and wolverines. Brighton can be viewed in the Kansas Waters habitat upcoming to Cat Canyon. Present zoo community hrs are 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. day-to-day.
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