VIDEO: Baby Otters Born At The Oregon Zoo, And They Are Cute

Two new baby otters are inspiring oohs and ahs at the Oregon Zoo. And that's just from staff and people looking at video and pictures. The twins — a boy and a girl — were born on Feb. 26 to Tilly.

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They were 4 ounces and are already have doubled in size.

The zoo says that the pups and Tilly are in a private maternity den and likely won't be seen in the zoo's Cascade Stream and Pond habitat for a month or two.

Young river otters usually open their eyes after three to six weeks and begin walking at about five weeks.

"Young river otters are extremely dependent on their moms, and Tilly has been very nurturing," said Julie Christie, senior keeper for the zoo’s North America area. "She did a great job raising her first two pups, Mo and Ziggy, both born in 2013. And she was a terrific adoptive mom to Little Pudding, the orphan pup who was rescued from a roadside in 2015.

"We expect she'll do well with her new babies as well."

Tilly's adventures in motherhood captured people's imagination when she was caught on video teaching Mo to swim. For those who don't follow otter parenting... moms have to teach their pups to swim, and it bears a bit of a resemblance to waterboarding (with love).

Keepers have yet to decide on a name for the two new pups, though it is likely they will be named after local rivers or waterways.

Mo was named for the Molalla River, and Ziggy for the ZigZag. Little Pudding bears the name of a Pudding River tributary that joins the main stem in Marion County.

"This will be the first time Tilly has raised more than one pup at a time," said curator Amy Cutting, who oversees the zoo’s North America and marine life areas. "It's exciting that they’ll be growing up together and have the opportunity to play and wrestle with each other. Tilly's always been an extremely attentive mother, so it will be interesting to see what happens when her pups go in two different directions."

The zoo says that there was also a third pup that did not survive.

Since both Tilly and the pup’s father, B.C., were born in the wild, they are considered genetically important for the breeding otter population in North American zoos. Both parents are rescue animals who had a rough start to life.

Tilly, named after the Tillamook River, was found orphaned near Johnson Creek in 2009. She was about 4 months old, had been wounded by an animal attack and was seriously malnourished. Once her health had stabilized, Tilly came to the Oregon Zoo in a transfer facilitated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which oversees the species’ protection.

The pup’s father, B.C. (short for Buttercup), was found orphaned near Star City, Arkansas, also in 2009. He was initially taken in by the Little Rock Zoo but transferred here the following year as a companion for Tilly. The two otters hit it off quickly and have been playful visitor favorites ever since.

Videos and photo from The Oregon Zoo