Abandoned otter pups shifted to Maharajbagh zoo

Nagpur: The forest department seems to have abandoned hopes of reuniting the smooth-coated otter pups with their mother and has shifted them to city’s Maharajbagh zoo. The otters were found abandoned near Aheri lake in Gadchiroli about eight days back. Foresters carried out the mother’s search operation for seven days after which they shifted the otters to the zoo on Saturday.“The lake is more than 300 acres and we tried to cover as much area as we could. But, there was no trace of the mother otter,” said deputy conservator of forest (DCF), Allapalli forest division, Hemantkumar Meena.
The otter pups are believed to be male and female and three-to-four months old. Meena said that Maharajbagh zoo was the only available option for the department. “We could not release them back to their original habitat as they are too young and otters usually stay with mother for a year. As Gorewada rescue centre presently has no housing facility for aquatic animals, we decided that they would be best taken care of at the zoo,” he added.
The department is yet to decide the time span for which otters will remain at the zoo. “Once they become adults, we will take a decision,” said Meena.
The otters are in an 800 square feet enclosure inside the zoo. Maharajbagh zoo in-charge SS Bawaskar said that the otters are kept in a huge water tank which was once built for a hippopotamus. “A passage is made in the tank so that otters can come out in the dry area whenever needed. Tree trunks are also put inside the tank for their comfort. We will be fencing the entire area to ensure their safety,” said Bawaskar.
He added that the otters will be fed eggs and fishes. The zoo is yet to decide whether to exhibit them for visitors.
On December 3, the otter pups were picked up by some kids near Aheri lake after which residents had moved them to Prakash Amte's Lokbiradari camp in Hemalkasa. However, the foresters of Allapali forest range brought them back. Many locals and shepherds, who frequent the lake, claimed to see the mother otter with over half a dozen pups in the lake after which massive search operations were underway.
Forest officers had prepared a special cage and kept the pups in it on the banks of the lake, anticipating the return of mother otter to reclaim them. Six camera traps were installed around the cage and the place was monitored by the forest men to facilitate reunion, but all in vain.