Two Beloved Animals Pass away at Dakota Zoo

It's tough when you have animals that are favorites but eventually get up in age. 

This week we lost 2 beloved animals at the zoo. Otto a 17-year-old North American river otter and a 13-year-old Gray wolf. Both animals died from old age but stayed way past their life expectancies.

Otto really is close to my heart, as we had many a spirited discussion about the environment and how he wished he could get out of the zoo captivity and finally jump in his natural habitat, the Missouri River even if it means eventually getting back into the food chain.  He just missed the pace of the river, fish swimming happily by and the ability to get up whenever he wants and not have strange people look at him every day. He really valued his privacy.

From what I heard of the Grey Wolf was that he was content not having to chase sheep around and that he got fed regularly. It was almost like a retirement home for him so he finally got his rest after years of being chased away from herds by shepherds.

Obviously, those two assessments were fictional but it would be interesting if they were real though.  Hope they rest in peace.