Surat: At least 10 zoos across India house smooth-coated otters. Interestingly, almost all of them trace their lineage back to male otter Lalu from the city’s Sarthana Nature Park, giving the Surat facility a reason to celebrate Father’s Day.Lalu was brought to the zoo after being rescued during the 2006 floods. Later, paired with two females, Bhuri and Kali, who were also rescued during the floods, Lalu bred and fathered pups. This marked the beginning of what became India’s first successful captive breeding programme for smooth-coated otters.“Their mating started almost after a year of arrival once they became comfortable. Two pups were born in 2008 and later mating with another female was planned,“ said Dr Rajesh Patel, zoo superintendent.Sixty-three pups have been born in Sarthana zoo through the offspring of the three otters. The situation was the opposite in other zoos, where breeding attempts failed. This placed the city zoo in a special category, receiving tigers and other species that were not easily available against the otters.“Otters are found in rivers of south Gujarat and it is a safe habitat for them. They can be seen in Tapi river around the zoo as well,“ said Puneet Nayyar, conservator of forests.Twenty-six otters were exchanged with different zoos across India, receiving 104 birds and animals in exchange. In Aug 2025, a pair of otters was sent to Delhi zoo in exchange for Sangai deer. The capital city received a pair of otters after two decades. Similarly, otters born in Surat are part of zoos in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Mysuru, Raipur, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Jaipur and Bhubaneshwar.“As the population of otters keeps growing, we will plan reintroduction in the wild. It requires detailed study to understand the natural habitat and conditions before reintroduction,“ said Dr Patel.
