Baby otters learning to swim

Longleat Animal Park has two baby otters, Sumalee and Kasem, just 14 weeks old. In this video, the cute duo are learning to swim. They first were trained in a sink, then progressed to a bath, and now their skills are truly being tested... in a paddling pool.

Sumalee and Kasem are cared for by an Animal Adventure Deputy, Beverly Allen. She has raised the otters in her spare room, bottle-feeding them since birth.

The baby otters are slowly being reintroduced to their parents. According to the park, the family are all Asian Short Claw Otters. The smallest of their species, the Asian Short Claw Otter is just 65-90 cm long, and weighs under 5 kg. Sadly, due to habitat loss and exploitation, this species is listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.