On September 16, 2013 the Red River Zoo, located in Fargo ND, held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the newest zoo addition: the River Otter Exhibit to the public. Otter Rapids, the new exhibit designed by Shultz + Associates, recently completed construction this fall. The exhibit was built primarily with local contractors along with firms in Bismarck and a company that specializes in diverse theming for aquariums and zoos. The outdoor part of the exhibit features an interactive hollow “log” for children to crawl through, real branches and logs for the otters to climb on and a “falling water” feature complete with a slide which empties into a large pool and can be viewed from both inside and outside the exhibit. The theme behind the exhibit was to mimic the inside of an actual otter’s den so that the viewers could get a feel for what a real otter’s home would feel like. When exploring the inside of the exhibit, you will notice the “roots” coming through the ceiling of the building, the leaf and paw prints imprinted into the earth-toned floors, and the overall “den-like” quality of the exhibit itself.