Lucy!

Weasel. It is not always a word with the most admirable of connotations. Associations that commonly spring to mind include: misleading, sneaky, devious, and cowardly.

However, these adjectives hardly describe the weasel inhabiting The Perkins Wildlife Center at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Instead, this weasel's attributes include slenderness, short limbs, and tail that is nearly as long as the rest of her body. Our weasel, or member of the Mustelidae family, is a playful female North American river otter named Lucy.

Lucy was born and raised in an otter habitat and rehabilitation center in Pennsylvania, where she was used as an educational program animal for three years. She was retired from programming and came to live at the museum in 2003. Born in the spring of 1998, Lucy is currently ten years of age. Considering that river otters often live for more than twenty years in captivity, Lucy is still a youthful bundle of energy and is easily one of the most popular of our animals amongst museum visitors.

Lucy can be seen daily in her exhibit, where she spends much of her time frolicking in her pond, exploring enrichment items given to her by the staff, and participating in training sessions. Lucy is very motivated with her training which is important for her physical and mental health. For example, if Lucy needs to go to the vet she is trained to go into a kennel, and the staff preserves this behavior by working with her several times per week. The frequent training also keeps her mentally stimulated and maintains her good relationship with her caregivers.

Enrichment is key to Lucy's vivacious demeanor. Every day the staff gives her various environmental enrichments, which encourage physical activity and stimulate natural behaviors.

Lucy is extremely high-spirited and energetic, and upon observing her play for a few minutes it is easy to understand why a group of otters is called a "romp."

On Saturday, August 2, the Wildlife Resources staff will be holding its Enrichment Day from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Museum visitors can see Lucy, along with the other animals living in The Perkins Wildlife Center. There will be training and enrichment demonstrations along with a number of hands-on activities. Come see our merry little otter, who of course is not entirely without her mischievous, weasel-like moments!

Michelle Leighty, wildlife specialist