Oriental small-clawed otters in the Adelaide Zoo

Oriental small-clawed otter, Adelaide Zoo

On several recent visits to Adelaide Zoo I haven’t been able to get a good photo of these otters. They’ve either been sleeping somewhere in their enclosure and out of view, or they’ve been cavorting around in their pool. Either way it has made photography difficult. You get that with nature photography.

The above shot is not ideal, what with their backs to my camera, but they were fast asleep and not moving anywhere in a hurry, so I have to be happy with this photo until my next visit. Hopefully I will get a better shot someday.

I must admit that I don’t know a great deal about otters, and this species in particular. That’s why the information boards such as the one below are so important in the education of the general public visiting zoos (click on the image to enlarge). I’ve also discovered that this is the smallest otter species in the world.

They eat a variety of mussels, snails, crabs and fish; that’s quite an interesting diet.

For more information about the oriental small-clawed otters, go to the Adelaide Zoo website here.

Oriental small-clawed otter, Adelaide Zoo