Jin the otter moves into new home

New Zealand’s most famous otter, Jin, moves into her new home at Wellington Zoo on Thursday with partner Jala, announced Senior keeper Paul Horton.

“We’ve been working on the otter enclosure - we’ve fixed it up for Jin and Jala. Plus we had to make sure it was completely escape proof.’

“There has been a big effort to ensure the enclosure is returned to its original layout – similar to a river bed, the most suitable environment for these fresh water otters.”

Four year old Jin, an Asian small-clawed otter, gained notoriety in 2006 when she escaped from Auckland Zoo and managed to evade capture for nearly four weeks.

‘There has been a lot of interest in Jin and I’m sure that the visitors to Wellington Zoo will be thrilled to get the chance to get up close to this notorious escape artist.’

‘Wellington Zoo is part of an Australasian breeding programme for Asian small-clawed otters and Jin and Jala came to Wellington Zoo from Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch as part of this programme,’ said Paul.

Asian small-clawed otters, the smallest of all otter species, are found in the wild throughout much of Asia. They are classified by the IUCN (the World Conservation Union) as near threatened - this is mainly due to ongoing habitat loss and pollution.

ENDS

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