In a small den on the west side of the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo, there are now four Asian small-clawed otters, two more than there used to be.
First-time parents Jay and Lakena welcomed two otter pups to the zoo on April 30, but the pups did not come out of their den until recently, said Jonathan Miot, assistant director of the Teaching Zoo.
"The second we found out she was pregnant, we waited and calculated the time until their arrival," said Emi Willows, an SFC student at the Teaching Zoo. "We were so excited when they were born."
In the wild, Asian small-clawed otters keep their young in a den until they are able to open their eyes, which can take six to eight weeks. Miot said the Teaching Zoo wanted to do the same for Jay and Lakena.
The otters stayed in their den and were fed and monitored by a team of SFC student-trainers.
"You can't just go in and open [their den] all the time without being attacked," Willows said. "So we waited for them to be ready."
Since being out of the den, the parents have been teaching the pups how to swim by dunking them in a small pool in their cage.
Miot said they did not appreciate the dunking at first but are now getting used to the water.
"It's exciting to see them swim," Willows said. "They're getting pretty good at it."
The pups have not been named because their gender isn't determined yet, Willows said.
Miot said the zoo is very pleased with the way the parents have been raising the pups and do not want to interfere to check their sex.
"It's very difficult to tell them apart for the first three years, so we don't want to confuse them with names," Willows said.
The best time to see the animals is around 9 a.m. when the zoo opens or when it is cloudy outside. They like cooler weather, said Miot.
The Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo, 3000 NW 83rd St., is open every day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and costs $4.
