NEW ORLEANS - Audubon Zoo and Audubon Aquarium of the Americas are set to celebrate World Otter Day on Wednesday, and you otter be there.

The Zoo and Aquarium will host feed and chats as they offer visitors lessons on how they can help protect the playful and completely adorable animals.

Three different species of otter call the Audubon Nature Institute home: Southern Sea Otters at the Aquarium, North American River Otters at the Zoo’s Louisiana Swamp Exhibit and Asian Small-Clawed Otters in the Zoo’s Asian Domain.

"World Otter Day is a day that celebrates all 13 species of otter, which is important because a lot of people don't realize that there are that many species,'' said Dominique Fleitas, interim assistant curator of the Zoo's Swamp Exhibit & Jaguar Jungle. "Unfortunately, for each of these species, populations in the wild are declining with most of them being near threatened or endangered. The exception is the North American River Otter, whose population is stable.’'

You can learn more about World Otter Day along with information about conservation, protection and the care of otters at otter.org.