Giant River Otter Pup Born in Asian Wildlife Reserve [PIC]

Asia's first giant river otter was born in one of the parks at Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) this year.

The male pup was born Aug. 10 in WRS' River Safari, weighing 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg) and measuring about two feet long (60 cm). When the baby river otter reaches full size, it will weigh 75 pounds (34 kg) and can grow to reach six feet (1.8 m). Giant river otters are the largest of the 13 otter species that inhabit our world.

A member of the weasel family, giant river otters are also the rarest type of otter in the world. The animal is hunted excessively in its natural habitat of South American rivers for their fur. The otters are also threatened by natural habitat depletion. It is believed that only a few thousand giant river otters remain in the wild.

In addition to humans, other predators of the giant river otter include anacondas, hunt piranhas and caimans, also known as "river wolves."

"With increasing threats such as habitat destruction and poaching, captive breeding programmes play a pivotal role in conserving threatened species for our future generations," Dr Cheng Wen-Haur, WRS's chief life sciences officer, said.

Over 400 animals were born in one of the four WRS parks, Night Safari, River Safari, Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park, between January and August of this year. This includes other species in danger like the manatee, orangutan and Malayan tapir.

WRS is known for exchanging animals born its parks with reputable zoos for "breeding purposes," The Straits Times reports.

Giant river otters can also be found in some United States facilities such as the Jacksonville, Los Angeles and Philadelphia zoos as well as Dallas World Aquarium, Miami Metroparks and Moody Gardens.

View pictures of the giant river otter pup here.