Toronto Zoo mourns death of 13-year-old otter Talise

Talise is being mourned.

The Toronto Zoo is mourning the death of one of its resident otters.

“Our hearts and our Americas Pavilion will be a little less full, moving forward,” the zoo said in a Facebook post on Friday, announcing the death of Talise, a female North American river otter. She was 13.

The Toronto Zoo said Talise was seriously ill when she died and that the cause of her death was an underlying cardiac issue.

“A heart problem would explain the fluid retention and heart murmur diagnosed while she was alive, and an abnormal heart noted at a preliminary post-mortem examination,” the Toronto Zoo said in a Facebook post.

The facility remembered Talise, which means “beautiful waters,” as a smart otter eager to train and pick up new behaviours.

She was found orphaned by a couple walking their dog in Kenora, Ont. in 2010.

The otter was then raised by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources staff before being transferred to the Toronto Zoo.

“Talise was so full of sass and energy. She bonded closely with her keepers because she was hand raised, and she would regularly greet her Wildlife Care team in the morning by chirping for attention and for her breakfast,” the zoo said.

She later joined then-resident otters Neo and Maria, with whom she got along very well. In 2016, Talise was introduced to a male otter named RJ. The two never produced an offspring, the zoo said, but “they got along swimmingly!”

The zoo added: “In fact, both RJ and Talise were always together and if they weren’t competing over enrichment, they were often found snuggling up together. Talise kept RJ on his toes and she was definitely the boss of the habitat!”

The zoo shared photos of Talise on Facebook, inviting the public to honour the “very special otter.”