International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

examined, or sexed in order just to gather this data, as this may result in litter loss. Such
information can and has been gathered from cubs that are handreared. Although, if cubs require
vaccination or other medical attention or emergency care, the parents should be locked away
from the cubs so they are not able to see the procedure. This can be done by feeding the parents
in an enclosure location as remote from the cubs as possible, to distract the otters and lure them
away from the cubs. (The primary caretaker should feed the otters in the best possible way to
avoid being detected.) The parents can then be locked away from/out of the area with the cubs
and only the most necessary staff should enter the enclosure so that they are not seen by the
otters, perform the procedure as quickly and quietly as possible, and exit in the same manner.
Cubs should be handled with gloves so the parents do not smell that humans have touched the
cubs. Great caution and care should be taken during the entire procedure, as the parents may
very likely become easily frustrated, nervous, and stressed once they realize they have been
locked away from their offspring.
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 and neglect their cubs because of it, can vary from non-existent to extreme dependent on
many factors. (See Section 10 Part A & C and above.) It is therefore important that husbandry
procedures should be adjusted to fit the individual needs of each parent.
“As in other otter species, Pteronura’s hearing is acute (pers. obs.). An adult
pair sleeping on shore heard an Amerindian canoe being quietly paddled
upstream long before I did and, before it came into view, dived into the water….
Pteronura is extremely inquisitive and very aware of its surroundings – a single
noise out of place in the constant background sounds of insects and birds will
cause it to lift its neck and try to locate the sound. This alert posture is seen very
often and in the water is replaced by periscoping, i.e. bobbing up and down while
treading water” (Duplaix 1990).
In the wild, specific attention is now being given to help isolate the areas, that giant otters use
during the cub-rearing season, from human disturbances (i.e. tourist activities) (Schenck, pers.
comm. 1998; Groenendijk and Hajek pers. comm. 2002). This is because wild giant otters may
react negatively towards human disturbances during these periods and this may affect the
success of the litter.
Part C. Family/Social Structure Management & How Family/Social Structure
Management Affects Breeding and Cub-Rearing Success
“There is a high degree of pair bonding and group cohesiveness in Pteronura. Family members
travel and fish together, seldom straying out of sight or calling distance from one another.
Allogrooming takes place frequently and mated pairs sleep in contact with one another...Indeed,
most of the activities carried out during the day are done by individuals in close proximity to
one another. ” (Duplaix 1980). This is also true for giant otters in captivity. Animals that are
kept together become frustrated, anxious and stressed when they are separated/locked away
from each other by their caretakers for even as little as a one minute time period. They prefer to
keep very near to each other constantly, although they do normally occasionally carry out some
activities separately without problem. In the wild, a mated pair normally bonds for life and all
family members, including offspring (usually 1 to 2 years old) from the parents previous litters,
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