Springfield zoo takes charge of raising litter of otter pups

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- They're cute and cuddly, but they require a lot of attention -- and they're a handful when active.

So it's understandable April Horton is relieved the four sibling otter pups she's helping care for are getting bigger.

"We're hoping in the next week or two, they start doing things on their own," said the Dickerson Park Zoo keeper as she groomed and fed the pups, born March 24.

Gabby, Chance, Trooper and sister Ariel were taken from their mother, Stash, and father, Ralph, soon after they were born in the zoo's otter habitat because of concerns they wouldn't gain weight fast enough, zoo spokeswoman Melinda Mancuso said.

The year before, a litter born to Stash didn't survive.

Horton and fellow zookeeper Kesha Schreiber have shared nanny duties caring for the pups.

During the day, the otters nestle together and mostly doze in a large cardboard box padded with a blue towel in the keepers' building at the zoo.

At night, the pups split their time between Horton's and Schreiber's homes.

Weighing four ounces when born, the pups -- resembling dark brown sausages with stubby legs and whiskered gray muzzles -- now weigh more than 1 1/2 pounds.

They've graduated from a diet of human infant formula and heavy cream to a gruel made of a solid otter food and the formula Estbilac, Horton said.

But it still takes over one hour's time to clean and feed the pups. Each session involves mixing meal ingredients together in small plastic bottles and warming them.

Chirping otters

Feeding time also is when the pups receive tummy rubs to stimulate their intestines.

Each pup has its own approach to feeding, from fighting the nipple to grabbing hold of the bottle and not letting go until it's empty.

The pups chirp, and Horton talks to them during feedings.

"OK?" she asks one as it seems to lose interest in the bottle. "You're getting tired. We'll give you a break. Next."

While only 10 percent of hand-fed otters survive nationwide, it seems Gabby, Chance, Trooper and Ariel are growing and soon will need further training, Mancuso said.

Because they were taken away from their mother before the pups imprinted on her, Horton and Schreiber will keep working with them, even teaching them how to swim, Mancuso said.

"Initially, they'll use a tub of water to get them going," she said. "They'll have swim times a couple of times a day."

While experienced in raising parrots, macaws, hoofed stock, cheetah and maned wolf babies, Horton said learning to deal with growing otters will be a new experience.

"Everything we've heard from other facilities is they get a lot more aggressive," she said of how she expects her charges to behave.

The pups will go on display in what was the zoo's nursery building once they have grown enough and the zoo's alligators go to their summer display area, Mancuso said.

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On the Net:

Dickerson Park Zoo: http:www.dickersonparkzoo.org