Article published Feb 18, 2004
Gainesville Sun

Otter love

At long last, Jay found his Valentine.

Jay, the playful Asian small-clawed otter who has called Santa Fe Community College's Teaching Zoo home since 2001, was introduced to his new mate on Jan. 14. On Valentine's Day, Jay and Sal, a 13-year-old otter of the same species, celebrated their one-month anniversary.

"They swim together, eat together, sleep together," said Kathy Russell, curator and instructor at the Teaching Zoo. "They're a wonderful little pair."

Both animals came to Santa Fe from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago and are part of the Species Survival Plan, an international program that helps ensure the survival of selected wildlife species in order to maintain a healthy and self-sustaining population.

Known as the smallest of the 12 species of the weasel family, Asian small-clawed otters mate for life. But Jay was hard to convince at first.

"He was very unsure of her," Russell said. "He didn't quite know what to make of her, but she wanted to be with him" as evidenced by Sal's favorite approach of bear-hugging Jay. "He would climb up the tree to get away from her," Russell said.

By the end of the day, however, when hay was placed in their cage for bedding, the pair had worked through their hurdles. Since then, they have become inseparable.

At two feet long and bursting with mischievous energy, the otters have become one of the most popular animal exhibits at the Teaching Zoo, home to more than 80 different species of animals, including both native and exotic species.

Santa Fe's is the only teaching zoo in the country accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association and offers a five-semester technical program leading to an Associate of Science Degree in Zoo Animal Technology.

Each year, more than 30,000 guests visit the 10-acre Teaching Zoo, located on SFCC's Northwest Campus. For more information, visit the Teaching Zoo's web site.

SFCC Teaching Zoo

250 animals of 80 different species inhabit SFCC's Teaching Zoo, which provides summer, school holiday and weekend education courses for children. Free tours can be scheduled on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. by making an appointment at least three days in advance. Weekend tours are offered from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and do not require appointments. Adopt-An-Animal and Adopt-A-Habitat programs are offered, as well as birthday parties, outreach and career shadowing programs. For more information, call (352) 395-5601 or visit www.santafe.cc.fl.us.