9-year-old Northern American river otter dies unexpectedly at Sacramento Zoo
Kai, a 9-year-old North American river otter living at the Sacramento Zoo, was found dead in her habitat Monday morning, according to zoo officials. Taken as an unexpected loss, Kai is remembered for her curious and playful personality by her keepers.
She lived at the Sacramento Zoo for eight years, sharing a living space with another otter Jackson. Zoo officials said Kai brought joy to guests and staff. The zoo is conducting an animal autopsy to investigate the cause of Kai’s death. Northern American river otters typically live up to eight or nine years in wild, but have lived for 21 years in captivity, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
“Kai was known for being a sassy, opinionated otter who knew exactly what she did and didn’t want in every situation,” said Anela Medeiros, the zoo’s lead carnivore keeper, in a statement. “She has specific preferences for bedding, the type of fish she ate, and the time she shifted onto habitat.”
Medeiros said she will always remember Kai for her “worm time,” in which every afternoon, the otter would roll around her hammock bed. Medeiros also reminisced about morning check-ins with Kai, where she would make “grumpy vocalizations” because the keepers woke her up too early.
“She was an incredible otter, and that word truly doesn’t cover it,” Medeiros said.
Zoo officials said Kai’s cause of death will be determined in a necropsy.
Beloved by zoo visitors, Kai was a “treasured member” of the zoo who brought much joy to her keepers, the facility wrote in a public statement.
Evanne Harrison, a keeper at the zoo who worked with Kai remarked in the zoo’s statement on social media that there isn’t “a single thing Kai would do that wouldn’t make you smile.”
“She was equally frustrating and rewarding to work with because she was so smart and so stubborn,” Harrison said. “But no matter what, whatever she was doing, somehow it always made you smile.”
