Enclosure in Sihlwald
The otter enclosure is not in Langenberg Wildlife Park but in Sihlwald near the visitor's centre.
Otter enclosure with aquarium
European otter
Lutra lutra
Did you know ... that young otters cannot swim and have to learn how to do it? When young, their fluffy, air-filled fur means that they float on the surface of the water and find it difficult to dive under the surface.
Family
Mustelidae
Distribution
Otters once inhabited the shores of all Swiss waterways up to 1,600 metres above sea level but have been considered extinct in Switzerland since 1989. Isolated sightings of otters have been reported in Grisons, Ticino and Geneva since 2009 and a camera trap recorded a female with two pups between Bern and Thun in spring 2015.
Habitat
Otters inhabit a variety of habitats along the banks of streams, rivers, lakes and maritime coasts. They need an adequate supply of food throughout the year and banks of a suitable structure with varied vegetation in which to build their dens. Otters build their own dens but can also make use of abandoned beaver burrows or badger and or fox burrows located far from the bank.
Lifestyle
Otters are primarily active at dusk and at night. Except during the mating season, they are solitary animals who defend their territories against otters of the same sex. Depending on the adequacy of the food supply, their territories can encompass up to 40 km of a river bank.
Reproduction
Otters mate all year round. Female otters give birth to one to three blind pups after a gestation period of around nine weeks, which they raise alone. The young become independent at the age of one year.
Diet
Fish account for 70 per cent of their diet, but they also feed on amphibians, crabs, mussels, birds, small mammals and insects. The otter is an opportunist that eats whatever is most common and easiest to hunt.
Senses
Otters have excellent vision and sense of smell. They use their eyes to track down their prey, while their long whiskers assist them in murky waters. They are able to close their ears and nostrils when diving. When swimming, the otter’s ears, eyes and nose are level, protruding only slightly above the water, which enables them to perceive olfactory, visual and acoustic stimuli simultaneously.
The otter in Sihlwald
Since 2005. Otters are playful creatures, so several islands were built where they can eat and find shelter and thus express their natural behaviour. Otters can be observed through a glass panel in the underwater area of the enclosure.
