International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

dens (i.e. hillsides) should be located as far away as possible from public/visitor areas,
keeper access areas/doors to enclosures and buildings, areas where food will be offered,
and from where keepers would need to service enclosures, e.g. to empty pools etc., and
shift/lock out animals. They also should either be located and positioned within enclosures
or/and modified or the area immediately around them modified so that the otters that are
within the dens and nestboxes cannot see keepers performing necessary servicing (i.e.
entering or cleaning enclosures, feeding, etc.).
Nestboxes and dens containing nestboxes should be located and designed so that they can
be isolated from all humans during cub-rearing. If they cannot be totally isolated, simple
enclosure modification techniques made before parturition might be possible to help provide
some privacy (see below). At least 2 nestboxes must be offered when natural underground
dens are not available, although at least three or more nestboxes, each placed within a
separate den, should be provided. Nestboxes should be placed within dens to offer
additional privacy. When natural underground dens are not available, a nestbox, esp. those
made of wood, placed in a den will offer the otters more isolation from human disturbances and
presence than when it is just placed somewhere within the enclosure area. Multiple nestboxes
and dens will offer parent’s rearing litters an opportunity to choose which area they feel most
comfortable and safer in (Hagenbeck & Wünnemann 1992, Wünnemann 1995, and Flügger
1997). It is important that parents feel that they can move their cubs to a safer feeling
den/nestbox, especially after a disturbance has occurred. E.g. Wünnemann (1995) reported
giant otter parents at Hagenbeck Tierpark used multiple nestboxes when they changed the
locations where they kept their cubs during cub-rearing. Dortmund Zoo staff reported the same
and that the parents would move their cubs to different nestboxes sometimes as many as one or
more times during the same day. At least two dens should be located so that they are a
distance apart from each other so that the otters can feel as if they are moving cubs to a
significantly different, more remote, and seemingly safer location. The additional provision of
two interconnecting dens is also recommended for easier shifting and temporary separation of
animals etc.. In climates that are warm all year around, satellite nestboxes or den areas with
nestboxes can be connected to and located behind outdoor enclosures, as long as they can be
isolated, for additional privacy. Note: multiple dens should be provided within all enclosures
for various reasons. Indoor enclosures, whether they are attached to outdoor enclosures or
not, although must provide at least two or more off-exhibit dens in addition to the indoor
land area that is necessary for otters to carry out all living activities that are too cold to do
outdoors.
Dens should be constructed with solid non-transparent containment barriers, such as concrete or
tile, so that they provide maximum visual and acoustic privacy during cub-rearing. When
although, fence/lattice barriers are used they should be covered with wood/plywood boards
during cub rearing to offer additional privacy and prevent cubs from crawling through the
fence/lattice mesh. Each den needs a keeper access door and they also need an animal shift door
accessing the larger enclosure areas and possibly, the adjoining den depending on exhibit and
den placement. When the keeper or animal shift doors/gates to the dens are constructed of
fence/lattice they also should be covered with plywood/wood or other non-transparent materials
or the shift doors could be replaced with a non-transparent shift door. (Note: when fence/lattice
is used for one of the containment barrier sides within a den, the den could also be used for an
area to perform husbandry training or as an area, in addition to other enclosure areas, to use for
the introduction of unfamiliar/temporarily separated animals. See Section 13.) It is optimal
when long narrow tunnels, made of wood/plywood, are connected to the nestbox entrance holes
as they help increase privacy, keep nestboxes free of draft, help reduce tracked in water, and
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