Musa the otter - this is your life!

Musa, our adorable otter is celebrating his 15th birthday, and is now the oldest Asian short-clawed otter in all of WWT!

To mark this momentous occasion, we thought we'd take a look back at Musa's life so far...

Musa was born on 3rd October 2009 at WWT Martin Mere - WWT Washington's sister site in Lancashire. He was one in a litter of three cubs born to parents Thai and Ned.

Musa's sister Mina moved to an organisation outside of WWT, but in June 2011, Musa and his brother Rod moved to WWT Washington together, forming the first otter exhibit at the centre. Musa (right) and Rod pictured below (© Charlie Syme) were an big hit with the team when they arrived and visitors loved them instantly - who could resist that charm!

They didn't always get on, in fact Musa has a missing toe on one of his back feet where Rod, his brother, bit him - poor chap. While otters appear very cute, this highlights the fact that they are still wild animals and must be treated appropriately with respect!

Asian short-clawed otters are managed by a studbook keeper to ensure there is a good genetic mix for the breeding programme, meaning that otters (as well as many other animals within the zoo community) are moved around and matched up with suitable non-related individuals.

In October 2012, Asian short-clawed otter Mimi - then just one year old - was introduced to Musa, and it was love at first sight. Rod then moved to WWT London in December 2012.

Mimi was born in Chessington World Of Adventures and was one of three sibling sisters. She moved to WWT London Wetland Centre in May 2012 before heading up north to us later that year.

Musa and Mimi were inseparable from the start, forming an incredibly close bond. They could often be seen feeding together, grooming and *ahem* cuddling. Musa is a very generous otter and often gifted Mimi with food. In fact, he still does that to this day 12 years later!

On 22 May 2015, Musa becomes a first-time father after Mimi gave birth to a single female otter cub, Ruby, affectionately nicknamed 'Squeak'. She was named as WWT Washington celebrated its 40th year and was a welcome addition to the family.

Less than a year later on 3rd March 2016, Mimi gave birth to four otter cubs. The new additions Ash, Tod, Pip and Sam were well looked after by dad Musa and big sister Ruby, who could often be seen taking food into the holt and removing old bedding, replacing with fresh straw.

Here they are at around one week old during a quick health check with very light fur and eyes still closed. Our team tend to leave the young family well alone for as long as possible to allow them time to bond, before starting the process of weighing them, worming treatment and microchipping, much as you would a pet cat or dog.

Another year goes by and on 16th March 2017 Musa becomes dad to another four otter cubs. Buster, Rita, Irene and Shirley came into the busy family of eleven.

Otters aren't born with the ability to swim and need to learn. There's no delicate art to it either. Musa alongside Mimi and the older siblings simply pick up the youngsters and dunk them into the water! It's the exact behaviour otters would do in the wild to get them used to the water, learning to navigate under the surface using their dexterous paws to find food in the shallows.

Just a few weeks after the last four cubs were arrived, first-born youngster Ruby moved to a new home at Peak Wildlife Park to meet a partner of her own, Jude - where they were quickly nicknamed 'Juby'. They have since gone on to make Musa and Mimi grandparents!

Two years ago, Musa celebrated his 13th birthday enjoying a 'cake' filled with lots of fishy treats. His favourite treat is minced beef and he also likes the occasional boiled egg and prawns!

Musa's parents went on to have another litter of cubs in 2012, a set of sisters and younger siblings to Musa.

Penny, ones of Musa's younger sibling from this litter, is now happily living at WWT Martin Mere with partner Kenai. If you're ever visiting Lancashire, pop in to see them! Here she is looking quite chilled - she has a strong Musa resemblance!

The main thing you need to know about Musa is that he's such a good boy! As mentioned before, these are wild animals and are safely and sensibly managed by our team of keepers, but sometimes you can't help but fall for the animals, and Musa is deemed a 'sweetheart' by anyone who knows him!

He enjoys spending his time juggling with pebbles and rolling around in sand. As the oldest Asian short-clawed otter in WWT at 15 years old, he's by far not the oldest in the UK or the world - with several living into their twenties. We're hopeful Musa has many years of juggling ahead of him!

• Share this article