Edinburgh Zoo welcomes four new arrivals

THE first baby otters in more than 20 years have been born at Edinburgh Zoo, keepers revealed yesterday.

The four new arrivals, who were born in January, belong to the oriental, small clawed species which the zoo originally brought from Malaysia in 1987.

It is thought the parents’ sudden desire to mate may have sprung from efforts to improve their living conditions. The zoo built a new enclosure for the otters last year, complete with waterfalls and solar heating to keep the correct temperatures.

Amanda Alabaster, the zoo’s marketing manager, said the otters, which have yet to be named, had been thriving in their new environment.

She said: "For various reasons they had never bred before. They now have a natural environment in which they can express more of their natural behaviour, including mating."