International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

those working with her, from being bitten. For example, if she suddenly felt uncomfortable or
afraid of a situation during training or husbandry procedures, she might try to bite.
A wooden frame was developed (Gatz 1997) and attached to the containment barrier fence
lattice in one of the giant otter dens. (The den used is 4.5 m 2 [48.4 ft²] in size and the fence
lattice mesh size in the den is 5 cm X 20 cm (2" x 8"). The aforementioned mesh size allows
hands, thin pole targets and the ultrasound head etc. to pass through the containment barrier.
(This is a recommended size for these and other purposes. See Chapter 2.) The wooden frame
allows Katja to stand in the frame, on a small wooden step, so that she is close enough to the
lattice so that an ultrasound or other examinations can be carried out. Katja is stationed to stand
on the small wooden step with both of her hind feet. The frame measures 36 cm wide x 80 cm
(14" x 31.5") high. The frame is just long enough so that a cross bar is just below the height of
Katja’s head. This is supposed to protect and help prevent her from biting (which she never
did). The step is just wide enough for her to stand on it with both hind feet. The step is 35 cm
long X 11.5 cm wide (14" in x 4.5") and it is attached at the bottom of the frame. With this
width, she must keep her body close to the fence and she is unable to make any large
movements on this small step. The step is just about 20 cm (8") above ground, so it is easy for
her to step up on it, but it is not so low to the ground that she is encouraged to step immediately
off of it again.
During the ultrasound examination, it is often helpful to try to keep close eye contact with Katja.
This practice can help to extend the time she remains in the correct position.
Training sessions usually only last up to 10 minutes; although, during the actual husbandry
procedures, such as during ultrasounds, we have been able to extend the sessions up to 30
minutes or more when necessary. On some occasions, Katja initially did not station very well,
but improved significantly later on, sometimes even without much food reinforcement.
Ultrasound examinations are usually made once a week, if a pregnancy is suspected or if health
problems are a possibility. They are also carried out after litter loss, usually, once per week
initially and once every two weeks thereafter. (I.e. uterine size and condition is monitored.)
Currently, we are also performing ultrasounds on a regular basis. It is necessary that Katja
stations for at least 15 to 20 seconds to get acceptable results during the ultrasound and even this
seemingly short stationing time can be difficult to accomplish.
While Katja was trained to accept the ultrasound, Kuddel had to be kept busy somehow so he
would not disturb or distract her. One of the ideas was, to train him to distinguish different
shapes and colors. A small selection of wooden tools was made that consisted of circles and
triangles in red, white, or blue. Kuddel learned to accept the red triangle as his personal symbol
and to identify it among the other symbols. This training was initially done in 1996 and 1997.
After a break of almost four years, Kuddel still remembered and recognized his red triangle in
2001 when the training was reinitiated.
We use two targets with Katja. One is a long thin wooden pole with yellow duct tape at the end.
She is trained to target with her nose on this target. The other target is a long thin wooden pole
with a small wooden ball attached to one end. She is trained to use both targets at the same
time. We found that because giant otters like to manipulate and hold objects we could use this
to help keep her attentions focused on the target and stationing by giving a target for her to
hold/handle. This seems to help extend her interest and therefore somewhat helps to extend the
time she stations. As well, the target with the wooden ball at one end can not be passed through
the fence lattice, but the other target can be. We use the target without the ball, to pass through
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