Three rare giant otter pups at Chester Zoo have had their first swimming lesson, and their parents did not ease them in.

The triplets were born to first-time parents Bonita and Manu. At 15 weeks old, the youngsters were introduced to the water by being picked up one by one by the scruff of their neck and placed straight into the deep end.

Zookeepers named the two boys Uca and Yali, after a region of the Amazon rainforest. The female pup was named Yara, which translates to “river spirit” in Brazilian folklore.

Frazer Walsh, keeper on the zoo’s carnivore team, said: “Bonita and Manu’s three pups have been quietly tucked up in a cosy den since being born.

“While giant otters look completely at home in the water, being born with webbed feet, a strong rudder-like tail and two layers of fur that keep them waterproof, even they have to learn the basics when they’re young.

“But getting them into the water for the first time is a real family affair, and parents Manu and Bonita have taken a ‘thrown in at the deep end’ approach quite literally, gently grabbing the pups by the scruff of the neck and popping them straight into the water.

“It looks a little dramatic, but it’s exactly what they’d do in the wild, and it’s working brilliantly as the pups are already finding the confidence to swim independently, which is just fantastic to see.”

Giant otters are the largest species of otter. Conservationists estimate that between 2,000 and 5,000 remain across South America, and the species has already disappeared from Uruguay.

Their decline is blamed on deforestation, water pollution and illegal hunting.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists the species as endangered, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction without urgent conservation action.

The pups were born as part of the international conservation breeding programme in European zoos in a bid to boost their numbers.

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