An orphan baby river otter who was seen in Oakridge, Ore., was taken in by the Oregon Zoo. The otter is named Little Pudding after the Oregon's Pudding River.
"A lot of the animals here get their names from nations or cultures associated with the species' native habitats," said Julie Christie, senior keeper for the zoo's North America area, according to Zoo Borns. "For the river otters, we like to choose names based on local waterways."
The name of the otter was voted by the public, which chose between three names wherein J.R. Papenfus and Hobson were the other two. After 5,500 Otter fans voted, the name Little Pudding earned around 36 percent of the votes.
Before Little Pudding lived in the zoo, he was seen wandering alongside a local highway and was at risk since baby otters are unable to survive without their mother. He was then taken to the Chintimini Wildlife Center in Corvallis. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife contacted the zoo to see if it could let the pup stay there once its health stabilized.
North American river otters are now abundant in healthy river systems of the Pacific Northwest and the lakes and tributaries that feed them. There are a good number of otters in northeast and southeast Oregon, but they are scarce in heavily settled areas.
