1 Dollar - Elizabeth II European otters

Cook Islands issued a prolific run of wildlife-themed copper-nickel dollars throughout the 1990s, many produced by the Pobjoy Mint under license arrangements that gave the island nation's coinage program a distinctly commercial character. These series were designed primarily for the collector market rather than domestic circulation — Cook Islands' actual monetary needs were minimal, and New Zealand dollars remained the practical currency in use.

The European otter had been declared extinct in several countries by the mid-1990s, making 1996 a pointed moment for such an issue.