TIMELINE OF EVENTSSept. 3: Otters Pete and Delmar are moved to the South Carolina facility.Sept. 5: Pete dies.Sept. 17: Aquarium spokesman Thom Benson tells the Chattanooga Times Free Press that both otters had been moved and were being acclimated with the four new otters.Nov. 8: Benson announces Pete’s death.OTTER EXHIBIT EXPANSION• Opening: Scheduled for April 2014• Cost: $1.5 million• Number of otters: Six• Features: Several levels of land for the otters to explore, long pool with two waterfalls, and the ability to increase or decrease water flow to create new experiences for the otters• Exhibit space for otters: Increases from 481 square feet to 1,465 square feet• Exhibit space for guests: Increases from 180 square feet to 420 square feet (For comparison, Penguins’ Rock has 405 square feet for guests.)• Acrylic viewing space: Increases from 13 linear feet to 32 linear feet• Backup space for otter care: Increases from 100 square feet to 406 square feetSource: Tennessee Aquarium
An otter plays in its enclosure at Reflection Riding. Five otters are being kept and trained in those facilities before they are moved to the Tennessee Aquarium after a remodeling.Pete, one of the resident otters at the Tennessee Aquarium, died two months ago, a few days after being transported to a temporary training facility while a new exhibit is being built, spokesman Thom Benson said.
In making the announcement Friday, Benson acknowledged that he knew of the death at the time he was telling the media that both Pete and a second otter, Delmar, had been moved to a private wildlife rehabilitation facility in South Carolina for acclimation and training with four other otters that would be part of the new, larger Tennessee Aquarium exhibit.
Delmar and the four other otters now are at the Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center where they are being cared for and trained by aquarium staff, Benson said. They are being taught cues and behaviors, such as raising a paw on cue, that will be showcased when the new exhibit opens. The schedule now calls for a late-April debut.
Benson said the aquarium delayed going public with the news of Pete’s death in order to have a necropsy performed and to decide how to care for the five remaining otters. He said the necropsy tests were inconclusive and no cause of death has been determined.