Lincoln Park Zoo introduces new river otter ‘Tucker’

He is a 6-year-old adult river otter who hails from Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot, North Dakota.

“In the short time that Tucker has been here, he’s already impressed us with his intelligence. He’s quick to engage with puzzle feeders and has a playful personality,” said Curator Dan Boehm. “Animals have food preferences just like us, and it turns out that Tucker is a big fan of rib bones. So, we’ve been working with the zoo’s Nutrition Center to make sure his individualized diet includes this preferential snack.”

North American river otters are semiaquatic animals that live in areas with permanent water sources, such as rivers, creeks and streams. According to the zoo, they are considered “keystone species.”

That means they have a sizable impact on their native ecosystem and a healthy river otter population signals that the area can support live with high-level water quality.

Illinois has been turning around its river otter population after some tough times in the 1980s due to overhunting, poor water quality and more, according to the zoo.

Lincoln Park Zoo is free and open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekends.