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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abnormally frequent or excessive, it should not be determined as harmful. Parents at Dortmund<br />
Zoo (Sykes-Gatz pers. obs.), Hagenbeck Tierpark (Flügger pers. comm.) <strong>and</strong> Cali Zoo<br />
(Corredor pers. comm.) have all been observed to carry out these behaviors. In at least the first<br />
days after parturition, mothers have also been seen to be a little protective over their cubs when<br />
the father tries to become involved with the cubs. This as well should not be seen as abnormal<br />
behavior. Soon afterwards, the father will become equally involved (<strong>and</strong> his involvement well<br />
accepted by his mate) in the care of the cubs. As well, under normal <strong>and</strong> non-stressful<br />
situations, it can appear, esp. when giant otter parenting behavior has not been observed before,<br />
that both parents can sometimes treat their cubs roughly or even overly roughly. This kind of<br />
behavior can be carried out whether parents are in the nestbox, on the l<strong>and</strong>, or in the water. This<br />
is especially evident although when parents are teaching cubs to swim (see below). This seems<br />
to be normal behavior for giant otters. Although, caution should be taken when parents are<br />
actually too rough with their cubs (e.g. their behaviors become excessive or severe). The cause<br />
of such problems should be identified <strong>and</strong> resolved if possible, i.e. without causing disturbance<br />
to the otters. <strong>Giant</strong> otter parents, of course, treat cubs very gently as well.<br />
See Chapter 2 Section 10C for information on family/social structure in captivity <strong>and</strong> how it can<br />
affect breeding <strong>and</strong> cub-rearing success. E.g. the discussion of whether juveniles <strong>and</strong> sub-adults<br />
should be left with their parents when new litters are born is presented within this section.<br />
Chapter 2 Section 10A-B describes the negative affects that human disturbances have on<br />
parental behavior <strong>and</strong> cub-rearing success. Chapter 2 Sections 10A-B <strong>and</strong> Section 3 describe the<br />
negative affects that inappropriate enclosure conditions can have on parental behavior <strong>and</strong> cubrearing<br />
success.<br />
Estrus, Delayed Implantation & Mating Behaviors:<br />
Estrus can occur once every 3 months <strong>and</strong> immediately after litter loss (Hagenbeck &<br />
Wünnemann 1992). “When the breeding pair was rearing its offspring together, it mated again<br />
in the first week after the birth of the cubs [i.e. postpartum estrus].” (Wunnemann1995 b ). “…we<br />
were able to repeat the observation that the otter came into estrus for 3-5 days approximately 5-<br />
7 days postpartum <strong>and</strong> later, after the repeated loss of pups, a new litter was born without further<br />
mating. (Born: 12-26-9); Estrus 1-1 through 1-6-92; Loss of pups 9-2 through 9-4-92; next birth<br />
4-13-92.) After the loss of the pups no new mating took place….A calculation of the gestation<br />
period from the above mentioned example would yield 94-103 days. The interval between loss<br />
of the pups <strong>and</strong> the birth of the new litter was 63 days. It is possible that the otter produced a<br />
reserve litter with the postnatal estrus, made available relatively quickly by the loss of the first<br />
litter. The supposition is that there is a type of delayed implantation, such as is known to exist<br />
in several species when there is a strong temperature difference between summer <strong>and</strong> winter.”<br />
(translation of Flügger 1997). [In the wild, giant otters normally only give birth to one litter a<br />
year.] The aforementioned events occurred at Hagenbeck Tierpark.<br />
As well, at Hagenbeck Tierpark, “…the observed mating periods lasted from 1-8 days. All<br />
matings that I saw took place in the water, but there are also two observations of mating on<br />
l<strong>and</strong>…When a litter died matings could occur immediately <strong>and</strong> the shortest time between the<br />
birth of two litters was 74 days.” (Wünnemann 1995 b )<br />
At Sao Paulo Zoo, “We maintained the couple together, expecting a new mating to occur <strong>and</strong><br />
this happened on December 27 th , 1970. We verified, therefore that 108 days elapsed between<br />
the preceding birth <strong>and</strong> the new fertilization. Copulation is preceded by a courtship that lasts<br />
about 30 minutes; the male pursues the female, she dodges, escapes or lets the male catch her,<br />
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