NEW HANOVER COUNTY — On Wednesday, the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher announced the addition of three new Asian small-clawed otter pups born to mom Leia and dad Quincy’s brood.
The facility shared a new photo of the three babies on its social media pages Thursday.
READ MORE: Aquarium announces new litter of otter pups
The pups join siblings Stella, Mae and Selene, born last May.
It is Leia’s second successful pregnancy and delivery in less than a year. The otter team first noticed a single otter born while Leia was in labor Tuesday. The gestation period for otters is 68 to 72 days.
“It is not unusual for some species to be unsuccessful raising the first few litters, and they need the opportunity to develop parental skills,” staff noted in the release. “These pups may be fragile and their outcome will become clear as they grow older.”
The aquarium will be doing “Thursday Pup-dates” to share with the public the progress on the newborns. The pups won’t be on view to the public until they pass a multitude of milestones through the next four months.
However, the staff will host a gender reveal Sat., Feb. 4, at 11:30 a.m. It will stream live on Facebook and for those who want to join in person, reservations are required: bit.ly/NCAFFTickets.
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