Community invited to help name three new otters at Brockville’s Aquatarium
For a few weeks now, The Aquatarium at Tall Ships Landing (AQ) has been teasing their followers on social media about a big announcement coming. And when the announcement finally came, it certainly did make a splash!
On Thursday, Sept. 5, the not-for-profit interactive science and education museum shared that they have added three new North American River Otters to the AQ family. The trio of two females and one male were all rescued from the US and joined the facility this summer. Their exact ages are not known, but the otters are at least two years old.
Longtime beloved AQ resident otters Brock and Oliver, who have been entertaining and educating crowds for years, have been instrumental in welcoming the three new otters to their environment.
AQ Director of Operations Jen Carter told Brockvilleist that the three new additions have added an exciting new dynamic to the exhibit.
“We have two females, so two new females and one new male, which adds a completely different dynamic than we’ve ever had before. We used to have one female, but for the last couple of years, it’s only been the two boys.”
She detailed, “But I remember when we had Ivy (the past female otter), she was always the one to get the boys going and playing. She was the queen bee. And these two females are the same in that regard, and so they are always like poking at each other and poking at the boys and getting them going. And it’s a lot of fun. It’s just all this new energy out on exhibit!”
For the first time, the AQ is hosting a members-only event to unveil the otters to the public for the first time. Those who have annual membership are welcome to sign up for the free event and they can be among the first in Brockville to be introduced to the three new otters.
Carter explained, “And the event, it will open for all our guests, and we will hopefully have them all out on exhibit. We can switch it up and change up depending on what’s going on throughout the day. We can move otters off the exhibit, and then bring different otters on the exhibit. We’ll have a lot of flexibility with keeping it fun and different.”
The Aquatarium’s ‘Otter Naming Contest’ has just launched and those who have a clever name in mind can submit their suggestion via this link.
The facility has done this competition in the past with their previous otters and it was a huge success. The two winners of the contest will win a one-year family membership to the AQ and a cuddly river otter plushie. The competition will be open until Oct. 13.