Three otter pups at Whipsnade Zoo have been born

Thank you for naming the squeaky additions to the otter family at Whipsnade Zoo!

We’re celebrating the arrival of three Asian short-clawed otter pups at Whipsnade Zoo. The pups – two males and one female – were born about eight weeks ago and have now started to venture out of their nesting box to explore their surroundings.

With help from our members, our otter pups now have names!  

Meet our female otter pup, Lalita. 

Our zookeepers chose a selection of Indonesian and Indian origin names with special meaning for our female otter pup for you to pick from. You chose to name her Lalita, meaning 'playful one'. 
 

Meet our first male otter pup, Dali. 

All name suggestions for this pup from our zookeepers were streams on Hainan island in China, which the smallest of all otter species call home. You chose to name our first male pup Dali. 
 

Meet our second male otter pup, Cahya.

You chose to name our third pup Cahya, an Indonesian name that gives hope to the declining population of this species in the wild. 

Look out for our otter family when you visit Whipsnade Zoo

Asian short-clawed otters are under threat from deforestation, habitat destruction, water pollution, and hunting. They are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list. 

Lalita, Dali and Cahya are important additions to the European breeding programme for the species. See if you can spot them, alongside brother Peanut, sister Pistachio, and parents Carol and Ernie when you next visit. 

Every visit to Whipsnade Zoo supports our vital wildlife conservation work, both here in the Zoo and around the world.

Book tickets to Whipsnade Zoo