What do you think of when you think of otters? Their playful nature, cute personalities, or their adorable faces? Well, outside of their cuteness otters also do some heavy lifting with being a productive member of their neighborhood. Otters are hugely responsible for keeping their local ecosystem healthy and thriving. They’re what’s known as a keystone species, which means they have a disproportionately large influence on their environments. Without otters, much of their ecosystem would suffer a huge impact.
This is why the North American River Otter is the face of conservation efforts like the River Otter Ecology Project at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. The project focuses on inspiring community engagement to preserve waterways in Utah and bringing back otters to rivers where they once thrived. Another conservation effort at the Aquarium is the Western Toad Project, which addresses regional challenges by studying amphibian populations threatened by disease and habitat degradation. These projects bring together community and education to serve the larger mission of protecting and preserving species across the globe.
Despite their importance to the environment and being absolutely adorable, otters are classified as endangered in the wild and need help to protect them. They face threats from habitat destruction, poaching, climate change, and disease, leading to their population in the wild declining overall. This is where the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and its Species Survival Plan (SSP) comes in. The goal of the program is to collaboratively manage a species population outside of its natural habitat with the support of AZA-accredited zoos, aquariums, and their partners.
SSP’s are carefully designed plans that manage breeding and transfer plans that identify population goals and recommendations to manage a genetically diverse, demographically varied, and biologically sound population. Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs) supervise and ensure that every plan contributes to broader conservation goals. These managed populations also become vital resources for scientific research, behavioral studies, and veterinary advancements that directly inform field conservation. In many cases, SSP’s are linked to projects in the wild, supporting habitat restoration, species reintroduction, and public education efforts that encourage more sustainable coexistence between humans and wildlife.
The work of conservation institutions also reaches into education and community engagement. Aquariums and zoos provide platforms for public learning and offer opportunities to witness conservation science in practice through partnerships with schools, universities, and environmental organizations. A donation or visit to the Aquarium can help maintain and support these efforts to save wildlife while sharing the mission with the public through community engagements. Support conservation for otters and other animals at the Aquarium Animal Adoption page.