These three Asian small-clawed otter cubs were born in September at Newquay Zoo in the U.K. The trio joins a group of 19 other otters at the facility. Zoo Director Stewart Muir said,
“The cubs are impossibly cute. Asian small-clawed otters are incredibly social animals compared with other otter species, so visitors will be able to watch how the cubs’ siblings play an active role in teaching them how to cope in the strange new world outside the nest."
Asian small-clawed otters are the smallest otter species in the world and are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to habitat destruction, water pollution and over fishing in their native Southeast Asia. The IUCN estimates that the population of the species has been reduced by up to 30% in the past 30 years.
Read more about the otters and see an additional photo at Zooborns.
Image: Newquay Zoo
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