Ecomuseum opens $1.4M habitat for otters saved from fur trade
It's the 1st time centre has 'playful animal' since Happy the otter died 2 years ago
For the first time in two years, you'll be able to see otters at Ecomuseum Zoo in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.
The West Island zoo officially opened a $1.4-million river otter habitat Tuesday, one that is "unparalleled in Canada," it said in a statement.
Three new otters will make the habitat their new home, filling a void left at the zoo after Happy the otter died in 2015.
"It's the largest project we've ever undertaken," David Rodrigue, executive director of the Ecomuseum Zoo, told CBC Montreal's Homerun.
The otters' new digs include 250,000 litres of water and vast land "mimicking the most beautiful shorelines of Quebec," the zoo says.
Rodrigue says river otters spend about as much time on land and they do in water, and the new habitat will also have hiding places they can use, just as they would river banks in the wild.
The new otters were taken from Louisiana in the U.S., where they were destined for the fur trade.
"Rather than being on a coat, today they're well and alive and with us and they'll have a happy life," Rodrigue said.
The Ecomuseum welcomed them in November, but they're still getting used to their new home.
"Right now they're [more shy]," Rodrigue said, "but now they're getting quite comfortable and it certainly won't be long until they're just completely at ease."
He says visitors will be able to see the "playful animals" through 50-foot windows as well as an underwater tunnel for children.
"[The tunnel is] children's height, but I can guarantee you that the adults will be crouching on their knees to look in it because it's pretty impressive," he said.
Soon, Ecomuseum Zoo will be needing the public's help to complete one very important task – naming the otters.
With files from CBC Homerun