Baby otters have first ‘swimming lesson’ at UK zoo

Asian small-clawed otter pups venture out of the den and dip their toes into the water for the first time at Chester Zoo

SHOWS: CHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 22, 2020) (CHESTER ZOO - MUST ON SCREEN COURTESY CHESTER ZOO) (MUTE) 1.

VARIOUS OF ASIAN SMALL-CLAWED OTTERS RUNNING AROUND THEIR ENCLOSURE STORY: Five Asian small-clawed otter pups ventured out of their den for the first time and began their "swimming lessons" at Britain's Chester Zoo on Wednesday (January 22).

Yet-to-be-named the three female and two male pups are not yet confident enough to dive in but have dipped their tiny toes into the water, said the zoo, who released footage.

The pups, born on November 8, 2019, to their mother Annie and dad Wallace, are currently weighing around just 500 grams. Asian short-clawed otters are the world's smallest species of otter and the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed them as a vulnerable species.

(Production: Oleksandr Ieltsov)