The new North American river otter habitat is now open at Grand Rapids’ John Ball Zoo.
It’s triple the size of the old space, featuring underwater viewing, overhead swim zones, and a children’s crawl tunnel.
But Animal Care Supervisor Jaime Racalla says her favorite feature is the pressurized water cannons zookeepers can use to shoot fish into the pools.
“I really wanted to highlight the natural behavior of foraging with these guys. It’s something they would do a lot of their day They have high metabolisms and are always looking for food so now we have a way to deliver it more naturally and kind of secretly.”
Racalla says otters are the perfect ambassadors for West Michigan’s local waterways.
Thanks to ongoing cleanup efforts, the animals are actively returning to the Grand River – proving cleaner water benefits the entire ecosystem.
“Sturgeon and freshwater mussels are both species that these guys are going to be found in the same waterways with. As long as it's clean for everybody, the animals will populate it. So really getting people to understand how important clean water is is part of the otter's job, I guess.”
For more on visiting the otters or the ongoing Grand Rapids Lantern Festival, visit the John Ball Zoo website.
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