We are delighted to announce that our smooth coated otter cub is a boy! Keepers were recently able to give him a check up and sex him. He has since been given the name Luhka, a cambodian name like the rest of his family. 

Keepers knew that Luhka had been born due to the noise coming from the underground den which mum, Chea, gave birth in. This is totally normal behaviour for cubs to be kept in an underground den as this is how they protect their young in the wild. 

At 3 months old Luhka has now grown strong enough to spend most of the day outside with mum, dad and the rest of the group and has nearly perfected the art of swimming after being given swimming lessons by its older brothers and sisters!  

The cub’s parents, male, Kong Kea, and female, Chea, joined the collection in October 2010 from the Rare Species Conservation Centre (RSCC) in Kent. Kong Kea (which means “Big Water” in Cambodian) was born in May 2006 at a Rescue centre in Cambodia and Chea (which means “to be well and healthy” in Cambodian) was also born in 2006. She was rescued from wildlife traders also in Cambodia.

The adults have had previous success with a number of litters at Colchester Zoo in previous years. It will be great to see the new addition becoming a part of the family, getting up to mischief and playing around with the group. Having come from rescue situations in Cambodia, it is really great news that the adults are breeding successfully, proving to be happy in one of Colchester Zoo’s state of the art enclosures, Otter Creek.

Smooth-coated otters are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list, meaning that they are at risk of becoming a threatened species. One of the major threats to the survival of the smooth-coated otter is the loss of suitable habitat. The breeding success at Colchester Zoo helps to ensure a healthy captive population aiding the continued existence of this species.

Find out how you could adopt one of our Smooth Coated Otters here.