CERCOPAN takes in a baby clawless otter!
Category: Cute rare baby otter | Date: Jun 30 2009 | By: cercopan
On 27th June a tiny baby otter was brought into CERCOPAN after her mother was shot by fisherman in Bakasi. We think she is approximately 50 days old are are hoping to rehabiitate and release her back into Rhoko, our bush site. Immediately after she was brought in, CERCOPAN staff contacted the International Otter Survival fund in the UK who have not only provided advice on rearing the young cub, but have also offered to send special milk and vitamins out to Nigeria for her to get us started. We are also receiving advice from Helene Jacques an expert on African otters. A big thank you to them for all of their help. We are not entirely sure yet whether she is a Cape Clawless otter, a Congo Clawless otter or an intermediate between the two and to be certain we will need to wait until she is a little older and her markings become more pronounced. Either way these otters are very rare in captivity and very little is known about them so we are recording as much information as possible. Keep checking back for photos and updates on her progress over the coming weeks.
Tags: africa, African Clawless Otter, animal, Aonyx capensis, baby, Cape Clawless Otter, Cercopan, cute, endangered species, Nigeria, orphan, rare species, rescued, threatened species, wildlife
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Cercopan
My name is Claire Coulson, I am the Director of CERCOPAN and have worked for the organisation since January 2007. I spend my time between Calabar HQ and Rhoko our bush site. -
Donations Received
- Nov 17th Kevin C. USD25.00
- Nov 16th Brenton H. USD16.50
- Nov 10th Christine C. USD16.50
- Oct 17th Kevin C. USD25.00
- Oct 16th Brenton H. USD16.50
- Oct 10th Christine C. USD16.50
- Sep 17th Kevin C. USD25.00
- Sep 16th Brenton H. USD16.50
- Sep 13th Erik H. USD77.00
- Sep 10th Christine C. USD16.50
- Aug 28th Wanda H. USD22.00
- Aug 26th Kathy S. USD100.00
- Aug 25th Antonio C. USD93.50
- Aug 25th Rebecca B. USD20.00
- Aug 24th Boccagna E. USD25.30
- Aug 23rd Erin E. USD22.00
- Aug 21st Kathy S. USD55.00
- Aug 20th Megan H. USD27.50
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- Aug 19th Rupa B. USD11.00
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7 Responses to “CERCOPAN takes in a baby clawless otter!”
Anna Curtis, on 30 Jun 2009
She is absolutely gorgeous! Do you think you will be succesful in rearing her, or are there too many unknow factors to be sure?
cercopan, on 30 Jun 2009
I hope so. So far so good,she is looking very bright and fitting well into her sleeping and feeding routine. Initially we had some problems as otter milk is very low in lactose and the milk we had available was too rich for her stomach. Following advice from experts we have now moved her onto soya milk until the specialist otter milk arrives and that seems to have done the trick! At 80 days we will need to move her onto a fish diet. Fingers crossed!
Christine C., on 30 Jun 2009
Oh my, how sweet! I certainly hope that all goes well with this precious baby! I can’t wait to hear further news
Dana-Phoenix Arizona, on 30 Jun 2009
Too, too cute for words. She is beautiful. Yes, please keep us posted.
brigitta, switzerland, on 01 Jul 2009
Jöööööööööööööö! (means … “how sweet, lovely, beautiful and precious in Swiss-german”)
Jo Thompson, on 06 Jul 2009
In 1995 I had a Congo Clawless Otter in the remote forest of Democratic Republic of Congo. She was approximately 1 day old when I got her. I did not have the proper food for her and she only survived for 5+ months. You can read about her and see her picture at:
http://www.otternet.com/ROA/Spring2000.pdf
Page 4-5
Jo Thompson, on 06 Jul 2009
Congo Clawless otter distribution is believed to be limited to the Congo River watershed. Cape Clawless otter distribution is very broadly associated with sub-Saharan Africa.
Angelici FM, Politano E, Bogudue AJ and Luiselli (2005)
Distribution and habitat of otters (Aonyx capensis and Lutra macuilicollis) in southern Nigeria. Italian Journal of Zoology 72, 223-227
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