The Texas State Aquarium proudly welcomes the newest member of its family!

August 1, 2020

The Texas State Aquarium proudly welcomes the newest member of its family! His name is Fisher, and he is a North American River Otter.

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – The Texas State Aquarium proudly welcomes the newest member of its family! His name is Fisher, and he is a North American River Otter.

The Aquarium’s river otter family keeps growing. When the Wildlife Rescue team rescued Arthur back in April, we discussed how vital companionship would be to Arthur’s development. Although Otter Creek’s longtime resident, Merlin, is still around, his age did not make him the best candidate to keep up with an energetic, young otter pup. Thus, the Aquarium started reaching out to other animal rescue programs in the state to see if it could find a young rescue otter that was unable to be released into the wild. After weeks of searching, the Aquarium finally found Fisher.

A fisherman and his dog discovered Fisher in the woods in Tyler, Texas. Fisher had significant puncture wounds. The fisherman took the pup to a wildlife rescue center that, along with a local veterinary team, cared for Fisher for several months until his wounds healed. On June 10, the Aquarium’s Wildlife Rescue and Marine Mammal teams picked up Fisher and brought him to Corpus Christi. Fisher was approximately 10 weeks old at the time.

Upon his arrival at the Aquarium, our head veterinarian, Dr. Taylor Yaw, performed a full medical exam and discovered an abnormality on Fisher’s left mandibular canine. For Fisher to thrive in his new home, his jaw condition needed to be addressed. An Aquarium team took Fisher to College Station to see Dr. Dodd, a veterinary dentist at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Dodd successfully removed an impacted tooth. Fisher responded well to the intervention and has now completely healed.

The Aquarium’s marine mammal team is currently training Fisher and Arthur to be introduced into Otter Creek together. Fisher and Arthur have been able to interact through a barrier in the otter holding area. The pups are responding well to the various types of behavioral training they will need to live together.

The Aquarium’s senior otter, Merlin, currently lives with the two youngsters “behind the scenes” and will be on a rotation schedule with the pups in Otter Creek. While the young otters go out and play, Merlin gets to rest and enjoy some peace and quiet.

Fisher enjoys hiding seashells, playing in the water hose, and interacting with guests through the underwater window. He is also learning how to navigate the exhibit without his trainers’ help and has been doing great! Visitors can now see all three otters—Merlin, Arthur, and Fisher—in Otter Creek.

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