NATURALIST'S 



NOTEBOOK 



CROWD PLEASERS 



Belly flops. Underwater flips. These are 

 just a couple of the tricks river otters perform for 

 aquarium visitors. 



The N.C. Aquarium at Roanoke Island, 

 boasts an 8,000-gallon water tank and a 25- 

 foot-by-4-foot land area that are home for three 

 river otters. 



River otters can weigh more than 40 

 pounds and live from 1 to 1 5 years in the 

 wild, sometimes longer in captivity. 



A river otter's curiosity is another reason 

 for its popularity. "The/ re very intelligent, 

 and curiosity comes with that," says Gatens. 



"River otters are near-sighted," adds 

 Lauren Jozic, aquarist at the Roanoke Island 

 facility. "That may cause them to come close 

 to a boat or person, but it also helps them 

 see underwater." 



But don't plan on seeing a wild river 

 otter playing during the day. As nocturnal 

 animals, they do most of their playing and 

 hunting at night. 



The aquarium's river otters wouldn't be 

 able to keep up with their investigative and 

 playful demeanor if it wasn't for a balanced 

 diet. Jozic does her best to give them the 

 nutrients they would receive in the wild. 



Each day she mixes one pound of meat 

 - generally boiled chicken — with fish, one 

 fruit, one vegetable, tomato juice and dry exotic 

 feline chow. The aquarist feeds the otters half of 

 the mixture in the morning and the other half in 

 the evening. 



For a mid-day snack, the river otters may 

 receive peanuts, dried fruit or dog treats. 



River otters are scavengers in the wild and 

 mainly feast on fish, but will eat anything from 

 bird eggs to mice. 



"We make sure the/ re getting adequate 

 nutrition," explainsjozic. "Frozen fish don't 

 provide as many vitamins as living fish in the 

 water, so we give them several types of food at 

 once." 



The aquarists do their best to make river 

 otters feel as though they're back in the streams. 



CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: 

 River otters bound slide down slippery banks 

 and into rivers. • The 8,000-gallon water tank 

 is a favorite for the river otters at the Roanoke 

 Island Aquarium. • A hungry river otter glides 

 through the water, chasing after fish. • Two 

 river otters at the N. C. Aquarium at Roanoke 

 Island rest on rocks in their exhibit. 



Small fish are introduced to the aquarium for the 

 river otters to catch and eat. 



"It's a good way for the river otters to 

 receive enrichment," saysjozic. "Goldfish are 

 their favorite to chase around." 



Like other animals that have high 

 metabolisms, river otters love to sleep, napping 

 for several hours during the day. 



Naps give aquarists an opportune time to 

 clean the exhibits. 



"Every two weeks we totally drain the 

 exhibit and pressure wash all the algae off," 

 explains Jozic. 



But when the exhibit is clean and the river 

 otters are active, crowds quickly accumulate 

 around the entertaining exhibit. 



WILD AT HEART 



Working with river otters can be challenging 

 When Jim Lanier first met a river otter named 

 Fisher in 1 984, it was anything but heartwarming. 



It could have been the unfamiliar 

 surroundings for Fisher. Or new faces like Lanier, 

 then director of the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher. 



"She was running loose in the back of the 

 aquarium," recalls Lanier. "Fisher's handlerwas 

 going to give her a dog biscuit but dropped it on 

 the ground. I went to pick it up and Fisher came 

 at me. I almost lost my hand." 



It took time for Fisher, a river otter that 

 recently had been rehabilitated at Sea World in 

 Orlando, Fla., to adjust to her new setting. But 

 she eventually became a featured attraction at the 



22 EARLY SUMMER 2005 



