North American river otters Cedrick, Mindy now sharing habitat

There’s an-otter Buffalo Zoo pairing that’s now sharing a habitat!

North American river otters Cedrick and Mindy have been paired up on a Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommendation, with the hope that sometime in the future they will produce pups.

While it is still very early, it is an exciting step forward after an introductory process to determine who Cedrick paired up best with.

Now 4-year-old Cedrick arrived at the Buffalo Zoo last summer on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) with both Mindy (6) and Poppy (5), and once he became settled into his new environment, the time came to begin visual introductions between the trio.

With the help of the Seneca Park Zoo’s General Curator David Hamilton, who is an expert on the North American river otter and longtime studbook keeper for the animal’s SSP, our team got to work observing how Cedrick interacted with the two ladies. Initially, Mindy seemed to show more positive signs with him than Poppy, leading to the decision that the two of them should couple up first. This does not necessarily mean Cedrick and Poppy couldn’t be paired up in the future, as all three are still young and growing in confidence.

Hamilton’s expertise is a huge asset for our team, and is yet another example of two AZA-accredited zoos working together toward a conservation goal.

With Cedrick and Mindy now sharing their habitat together regularly, our team continues to look for positive, and negative, signs among the two otters.

Keepers have already noticed the two spending a little time together, but there’s also been plenty instances where Mindy vocalizes to Cedrick that she needs her space. As time goes on, our team is hopeful that both otters will grow in confidence and comfortability around each other to where breeding can take place.

It’s impossible to predict when otter pups could be born at the Buffalo Zoo for a variety of reasons, and with Cedrick and Mindy both still very early in the process, our team is not anticipating any immediate developments.

North American river otters are delayed implanters, meaning that the fertilized egg does not immediately implant in the uterus. This period can be upwards of 11 months. After that, the active pregnancy lasts around 60 days.

Visitors can see Cedrick and Mindy together on habitat for the majority of the morning and early afternoon. Later in the day, Poppy swaps in for Cedrick.

While the North American river otter population is considered to be of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, they are an excellent example how impactful conservation can be. Pollution and over-harvesting once greatly threatened the species, but thanks to extensive reintroduction efforts in the late 20th century, North American river otters have been restored to several areas where they were once extirpated.