Clam Dunk: Sea Otter Juno Plays Basketball
The NBA Finals aren’t the only must-see basketball this season. Juno, a rescued sea otter at the Oregon Zoo, is swimming straight to the hoop — and she can dunk with the best of them.
Several years ago, zoo care staff trained the otter to put a ball through a plastic basketball hoop as a way of exercising her elbow joints. Until recently, her athletic exploits took place off-view, in a behind-the-scenes training pool.
Now, thanks an assist from the zoo maintenance team, Juno slams it home in a custom-made hoop mounted to the rock wall of her habitat. Zoo guests lucky enough to catch one of her training sessions can see some exciting basketball action — no NBA Finals tickets required.
At 9 Juno’s still a relatively young sea otter, but moving her front limbs is a way of staving off stiffness and arthritis as she ages, according to zoo caregivers. Plus, she can’t get enough of the game.