Because every day needs some squee...

feline groovy · ‎07-29-2014

Otterly gorgeous! Three adorable rare Asian clawed otter pups born in Santa Barbara zoo

They are smallest species of otter in the world and grow to just two feet long
Squeeks from young mom Gail alerted keepers at the zoo to the otters' birth
The public will get a chance to see the three babies in person later on this year
In the wild, the otters are threatened by palm oil farming, pollution and hunting.

Mail Online

PUBLISHED: 09:25 EDT, 1 November 2017 | UPDATED: 15:36 EDT, 1 November 2017

Three new rare baby otters have made their first appearance since they were born earlier this month.

The three Asian small clawed pups are first to be born at Santa Barbara Zoo for more than six years and are the first litter for parents Gail and Peeta.

This species - the smallest otter in the world - do not develop fully webbed feet and have paws which look like human hands.

But animal lovers may not get a chance to see the rare otters until the end of the year.

The three otter pups were born at the zoo earlier this month but have only now been shown by Santa Barbara zoo

A spokesman at Santa Barbara said: 'These young otters will not leave the holding area until they are old enough to safely swim and have grown teeth so they can eat solid food.

'Depending on their development, keepers estimate the pups could go on exhibit as early as mid-December.'

Describing the pups birth, the zoo's curator of mammals Michele Green said: 'The parents didn't come out to greet us and then we heard squeaks.

'That's how we knew Gail had given birth. Gail only arrived in March and it's been fun to watch them bond, and now become parents.

Keepers at zoo heard squeeks, which is how they knew that mom Gail had given birth to her pups

When fully grown, Asian small clawed otter are about two feet long and weigh less than 10 pounds, half the size of their North American cousins

'She's a young mom, but doing very well. Peeta is attentive and diligent.'

The parents' names, inspired by characters in the popular Hunger Games books and movies, were given to them by their Santa Barbara Zoo sponsors Peter and Pieter Crawford-van Meeuwen.

When fully grown Asian small-clawed otters are about two feet long and weigh under 10 pounds, less than half the size of North American river otters.