The Edmonton Zoo is celebrating the first birthday of four little “potatoes” today — Russet, Dakota Pearl, Violet, and Bridget, adorable river otter pups born on Valentine’s Day 2024, and named after the popular vegetable they resemble.
“When otters are born, they look like little potatoes,” says Zookeeper Victoria Smart. “They can’t move. They have no eyesight. They have to be taken care of by Mom. So, when she brought them out of the nest box, we could see they looked like four little round russet potatoes just sitting there.”
Their appearance inspired a competition between Zookeepers — the best names to go with the potato theme.
Russet, to no one’s surprise was a no brainer, and a perfect moniker for the lone roly poly male. But to come up with unique names for the three female pups, Smart says the team went down the potato dark web, surprised at how many “varieties” there were to choose from.
“Violet got her name because she’s quick and smart — she catches on to everything super quickly,” she says.
“Dakota Pearl, who is lovingly nicknamed our little yam is the tiniest one. She’s kind of the runt. Bridget is basically Violet’s second in command — when we see mischief out in the yard, it’s usually because Bridget and Violet are together.”
The otters were born to Najwa and Steve, a male and female pair brought together as part of the Edmonton Zoo’s Species Survival Plan. Considered a captivity success story, Smart says otter litters are usually smaller and often don’t survive.
“It was a surprise to see four of them,” she says. “And these little potatoes are healthy and happy.”
As it turns out, river otter pups aren’t the only baby animals to resemble potatoes. Last year, the Calgary Zoo welcomed three rock hyrax pups, and due to their appearance gave them the potato variety names of Emi, Koussi, and Chad.
