International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

obs.. 2002).] Cubs were taken into the water much too frequently and were treated too
roughly there. Parents pushed and held the cubs underwater too frequently or forced them
underwater for too long, so sometimes they nearly drowned the cubs. (The swimming lessons
that giant otter parents reportedly give, both in the wild and when captive parents are not
stressed, can appear rough, although comparatively, the aforementioned treatment is excessive.)
The greater the amount of stress/disturbance, the more excessive the aforementioned
behaviors have become. Parents may also carry out similar behaviors in a significantly
less exaggerated manner (i.e. they may exhibit these behaviors to a minor degree) as a result
of lesser stressors/disturbances.
To what degree parents are vulnerable to disturbances and normal human activity that
did not bother them before parturition, or how parents are effected by stress and to what
degree they abuse/neglect their cubs because of it, can vary from non-existent to extreme
dependent on many factors. These factors include the duration, intensity, frequency, and
familiarity of the disturbance, husbandry and management practices, the extent of visual and
acoustic isolation available, and the quality, furnishings, design, and size of the indoor and
outdoor enclosures. (I.e. see the enclosure conditions and husbandry practices that are
necessary to consider in Part B below.) Individual otter personality and history (e.g. physical
and behavioral problems), the degree of experience that each parent and if present, older
offspring, has with rearing cubs, family social structure (i.e. the age of any older offspring
present at the time of the new litter birth, whether the sire is present etc.), and pair compatibility
are also factors. All of these factors will affect the success of cub-rearing.
Negative reactions (e.g. parental neglect or cub abuse) to human disturbances (i.e. any
actions carried out by humans near and in enclosures etc.) may not occur immediately after
the disturbances have taken place. E.g. a reaction may take as long as a half hour to occur
after the disturbance and the parents could react calmly until that point, without showing stress
etc.. The time, type, and degree of both the disturbances and parental behaviors should be
closely monitored (either from the recommended hidden viewing areas or on video
monitors/tapes) and recorded on an on-going basis to evaluate the actual presence of negative
responses.
Normal/routine human activities tolerated before parturition can cause parents significant
stress at and after parturition and can result in cub neglect/abuse and litter loss. This
includes routine keeper activity performed by familiar keepers, such as daily enclosure
cleaning, feeding, observations, or simply the presence of the familiar keeper near or in the
enclosure and the presence of usual visitors or zoo staff. After parturition otters can be
disturbed by even the most familiar visual and acoustic presence/occurrence. Insignificant
or small unusual events can also cause significant stress. Examples of what may very likely
cause extreme stress include the direct presence of the public and unfamiliar zoo staff (esp.
within the nestbox area or directly within the enclosure), “loud/excessive” or “sudden noises”,
“unusual activities”, removal of any family/group member (e.g. mates or previous offspring),
relocation to a new enclosure, significant physical changes to or within the exhibit etc.. If
parents are aware that even familiar caretakers have entered the area in which they are, at that
moment, keeping their cubs (i.e. nestboxes/dens containing nestboxes, or caretakers peering
into/placing their hands in natural underground dens) this may also cause extreme stress. These
kinds of stress may likely cause litter loss. When familiar keepers are simply near the area
where otters are keeping their cubs, this can cause significant stress. When familiar keepers
enter the enclosure within the first week (or sometimes even longer) after parturition, even when
keeper activities are greatly minimized, significant stress can result. When otters detect, e.g.
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