International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management
International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management
International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management
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are only released into the wild, therefore they are not included within this studbook. In<br />
Trinidad, a single male is kept at the Emperor Valley Zoo in Port of Spain. Attempts to acquire<br />
a female have not been successful so far (Ali, pers. comm.; Jacques, pers. comm. 2001). In<br />
Venezuela, five zoos are known to keep single males while one zoo keeps two females together.<br />
One non-breeding pair is kept at the Valencia Aquarium (Richardson & Raines, pers. comm.<br />
2003; Jacques, pers. comm. 2001; Bartmann, pers. comm. 1998).<br />
Currently, only eleven (6.5) giant otters are held in zoos outside of South America.<br />
Unfortunately, 5.4 of these individuals are all very closely related (i.e. all are descended from<br />
the Brasilia Zoo bloodline). Until recently (when Dallas World Aquarium acquired 1.1 otters<br />
from Venezuela in 7/02, <strong>and</strong> Dortmund <strong>and</strong> Philadelphia Zoo each acquired 0.1 from Brasilia<br />
Zoo in late 2002), <strong>and</strong> despite many efforts, the process of acquisition has failed for all zoos<br />
outside of South America since 1988 (Gatz & Sykes-Gatz, pers. comm.).<br />
Nine of the otters currently held outside of South America are all closely related, as the<br />
following explains. Hagenbecks Tierpark (Germany) is the only zoo outside of South America<br />
that has successfully reared giant otter cubs (7.2 total). It was discovered afterwards that the<br />
parents of these cubs descended from two generations of inbreeding. The mother died in 1994.<br />
The surviving cubs, now mid-aged to old adults, <strong>and</strong> their father <strong>and</strong> uncle (both the oldest<br />
living giant otters known i.e. 16 years old), live at Philadelphia Zoo in USA (1.0), Chestnut<br />
Centre in Engl<strong>and</strong> (0.1) (their 1.0 died recently), Duisburg Zoo (1.0), <strong>and</strong> Dortmund Zoo (3.1)<br />
in Germany. The two females were paired with their brothers, as no other otters were available.<br />
In late 2002, Philadelphia Zoo exchanged a male, born at Hagenbecks Tierpark, for a female<br />
born at Brasilia Zoo <strong>and</strong> Dortmund Zoo acquired a female from Brasilia Zoo. Unfortunately,<br />
both of these newly acquired females are partly related to the otters born at Hagenbecks<br />
Tierpark <strong>and</strong> no other choice was available but to mate them with the otters born at Hagenbeck.<br />
Individuals still must be acquired from <strong>and</strong> exchanged with other zoos to help prevent further<br />
inbreeding by attaining new genetic bloodlines.<br />
One important goal of this studbook is to promote responsible genetic management of the<br />
captive population. It is crucial that all institutions holding giant otters thoroughly record <strong>and</strong><br />
openly share information as recommended <strong>and</strong> be open <strong>and</strong> willing to exchange otters with /<br />
transfer otters to those zoos that fulfill the requirements listed in the “Synopsis” above. This is<br />
necessary to help create genetically sound <strong>and</strong> successful pairings/re-pairings, minimize<br />
inbreeding, <strong>and</strong> increase the number of potential breeding pairs in attempts to increase the<br />
number of captive born animals. The reduction of the number of giant otters that are held singly<br />
can also help to avoid the occurrence of mental / behavioral problems caused by holding solitary<br />
animals. The ultimate goal of creating a healthy self-sustaining captive giant otter population<br />
will only be possible when the aforementioned actions are carried out.<br />
Census records that should be kept for every individual born/acquired include individual<br />
identification <strong>and</strong> sex, identification of the dam & sire or location born in the wild, birth,<br />
acquisition, death, <strong>and</strong> transfer dates <strong>and</strong> corresponding locations, <strong>and</strong> reasons for death. Also<br />
needed are complete records on every cub/litter that a parent sired or gave birth to <strong>and</strong> any<br />
suspected pregnancies/births <strong>and</strong> reasons for the death of each cub/litter. Medical, physical,<br />
<strong>and</strong> behavioral information on each individual held should also be recorded. Exp<strong>and</strong>ed detailed<br />
census, age, family heritage/origin, <strong>and</strong> reproductive information can then be collected <strong>and</strong><br />
analyzed. Individual behavioral assessments / reports (i.e. identifying dominant / submissive<br />
animals, animals with poor parenting skills, etc.) can also help to aid successful introductions<br />
<strong>and</strong> cub-rearing success.<br />
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