After a few busy days where Dixon and Riggs got to know their new home, keepers and most importantly treats, the two new fluffy Alaskans were introduced to their future roommates Agnes and Mojoe.
Dixon and Riggs were kept in quarantine to be allowed to sleep off their jetlag in peace, before being released into their new enclosure and introduced to Den Blå Planets guests.
A smooth transition from Alaska to Denmark
The journey from Alaska to Denmark was no easy feat, and took months of planning. With the sea otters being everyone’s first priority, a lot of work was done to make sure the process went smoothly.
Three members of staff from the Alaska Sea Life Center accompanied the otters throughout their journey, and made sure they were fully settled in before returning home. This meant that the otters were fed and trained by familiar faces, as well as fed with food brought from Alaska.
This gave them the comfort and calm of being home, and allowed the keepers to make sure that the otters were slowly introduced to the different aspects of their new home. The Alaskan delicacies were eventually replaced with Danish food, which luckily is going down a treat – since otters are known for being picky!
This fact was confirmed by Mojoe, who refused to eat an Alaskan capelin fish, even though it was exactly the same as his favorite Danish capelin fish. There’s tricking a hungry otter here!
Now our guests can experience all four sea otters
All the keepers have had an extra spring in their step since the arrival of the two new sea otters. They have been eating well and displaying healthy otter behaviour. This pleasant development meant that the time came for Riggs and Dixon to meet our resident sea otters Agnes and Mojoe, and be released into the enclosure for our guests to see.
Agnes was the first to be invited into the quarantine area and meet the newcomers. Her curious and spunky attitude meant that the keepers knew she wouldn’t shy away from getting to know Riggs and Dixon. There was a steady flow of treats for all three otters, and the introduction was successful. The keepers then left the quarantine area to see how the otters would react, without intervention. The otters were however not left unattended, as a security camera kept an eye on them, and both keepers and curious colleagues alike were glued to the screen to see how they were getting along.
The final step was releasing all three otters into the enclosure, and allowing them to meet Mojoe. All four otters were calm and curious, and acted similar to dogs meeting in a park. The day was spent with impressive cartwheels, play fighting and checking each other out.
Icebath politics
Part of the ”getting to know each other” process amongst sea otters, appears to be testing each others limits. All sea otters love a good icebath, and when one was placed for all four otters to enjoy little Riggs decided to climb up and enjoy the frozen treats. It wasn’t long before Agnes came by and made sure to push over the tub so Riggs and all his icecubes were spilt across the floor!
Later on, she chose to share an ice bath with her old pal Mojoe, but the two newcomers weren’t welcome to join in on the frozen fun. What looks like displays of slapstick humor are most likely actually a way for Agnes to prove who is boss, as even though she is welcoming of the newcomers, she wants them to know who is the alpha!
Territorial behaviour of the ice bath aside, the otters seem to be getting along well and the worst-case scenarios the keepers were prepared never appeared. The otters are continueing to be watched day and night, and we are crossing our fingers that the pleasant atmosphere continues in the otter enclosure.
