International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

nervous and stressed and the female was excessively domineering), they developed into a very
compatible pair again.
Although a compatible pair bond was formed again, the female seemed to have developed some
on-going social behavioral problems, and she (as well as her mate) also was, for at least a few
months after her re-introduction, exceedingly nervous in behavior and easily stressed. (Note:
these levels of nervousness and stress were greatly increased above the levels that she and her
mate displayed before separation. Both the female and male were quite nervous in behavior
even during normal daily circumstances before the separations and this seemed to be caused by
the inappropriate enclosure conditions that they were housed in for most of their lives.)
Gradually, over the few months after the re-introduction, their exceedingly abnormal behaviors
subsided to the levels they displayed before the separation and the female’s excessively
dominant behaviors reduced. This is assumed to occur just because of the passing of time.
About a year later, the female and males’ generally abnormal and unhealthy behaviors/mental
health, i.e. esp. the elevated nervousness, greatly improved after they were offered appropriate
enclosure conditions and these conditions seem to be the cause for the improvement in their
behavior. This improvement gradually developed after the changes in enclosure conditions
were made. They remained within the same enclosures and only the conditions of the
enclosures were changed. Even when they were relocated to other appropriate enclosures
within the zoo, they carried out behavior that a healthy otter would carry out under such
circumstances.) The female became although, until at least the completion of this report,
abnormally domineering over her original partner after her re-introduction to him. This may
have been because she adopted/learned to act this way because of her previous experience and
also because the extreme stress from the separations and inappropriate enclosure conditions
were responsible for the development of this abnormal behavior. This report was completed a
few years after the separations occurred.
Also, at another zoo (Brasilia Zoo, pers. comm. 2002), a 2 year old female was housed with her
siblings and parents for two years and then she was separated from them for only a day or two
with visual-acoustic-olfactory access. This female was attacked and injured by her mother and
sisters upon her re-introduction to them. The re-introduction attempt was aborted. Under
normal circumstances, giant otters do not like to be separated for even a minute or so from the
other otter, as this situation makes them frustrated and anxious (Sykes-Gatz and Gatz, pers.
obs.).
In all cases, breaking partners or other group members apart for any reason should be
avoided as much as possible. If individuals are separated from their partners or other group
members too often (e.g. to be repaired with other mates), this could cause a significantly
negative effect on the otters’ behavior, possibly over the long-term. E.g. this may cause very
difficult introductions to unfamiliar or temporarily separated animals, the failure to successfully
readjust to and get along with new animals/previous partners, social behavioral problems, the
failure to rear cubs successfully or treat cubs properly, and/or general mental/behavioral health
problems. More research should be conducted on these issues as only very limited information
is available on the affects of multiple separations and re-introductions on individuals. It is most
important although that the enclosure conditions that the otters were kept in before (i.e. for their
lifetime) and after separations and re-introductions occur are also studied and evaluated to
determine their affect on such situations. The enclosure conditions that are necessary to
evaluate are those described in Chapter 2 Section 3B.
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