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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then both roll over the s<strong>and</strong> together. The female tries to escape but the male does not let her<br />
get away. He forces her to get into the water, sometimes pushing her; after several attempts, the<br />
female finally gets in the water, followed by the male. During several minutes the male pursues<br />
the female <strong>and</strong> finally mounts his mate. The female’s whole body is under water except for her<br />
head. Copulation follows <strong>and</strong> is of short duration, lasting up to 60 seconds.” (Autuori &<br />
Deutsch 1977). Thirty days after the copulation the female was separated from the male <strong>and</strong> the<br />
mother reared her litter alone. Note: within this section, all the cub-rearing/parental behaviors<br />
observed at Sao Paulo Zoo, were carried out by the mother only. See the serious problems, such<br />
as litter loss etc., in Chapter 2 Section 10C that can be caused when the parents are not allowed<br />
to rear their cubs together.<br />
At Dortmund Zoo, the giant otters play very roughly (both in the water <strong>and</strong> on l<strong>and</strong>) about a few<br />
days before mating begins. (I.e. the frequency <strong>and</strong> intensity of play behaviors is significantly<br />
increased.) They continue this behavior until <strong>and</strong> throughout the actual mating period. Mating<br />
has been observed to be carried out in the water <strong>and</strong> on l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> it can occur over a 5 to 7 day<br />
period. Copulation is very obvious (i.e. it is not easily missed) <strong>and</strong> it can occur several times<br />
per day. Estrus can occur once every 3 months, immediately after litter loss, <strong>and</strong> within the first<br />
week or so just after parturition (i.e. post-partum estrus). At least one occurrence of delayed<br />
implantation was thought to have occurred (Gatz & Sykes-Gatz pers. comm.).<br />
At Hagenbeck Tierpark, “From our observations mating lasts for ten to 30 minutes <strong>and</strong> pairs<br />
mated several times a day for a period of up to seven days.” (Hagenbeck & Wünnemann 1992).<br />
At Parque del Este (Venezuela) “One morning about 10:30 …the giant otters were copulating.<br />
At 11:00 when I arrived the animals were still active. The male grabs the female by her neck<br />
<strong>and</strong> brings the base of its tail laterally to the correspondent part of the female…The copulation<br />
movements are fast <strong>and</strong> intense only during 5 – 10 seconds, several times during the whole<br />
copulation. The animals stay in contact for about 10 minutes. They produce certain grunts<br />
during the act. After the separation, the female pursued the male, overtakes him trying to arise<br />
interest. After a few minutes, the male shows interest <strong>and</strong> copulates again for some 5 minutes.<br />
After that, they separate <strong>and</strong> swimming together they play <strong>and</strong> look for food. Autuori reports<br />
that in his case the male pursued the female. At about 2:30 p.m. they started sexual activities<br />
again. In another occasion it was reported to me, that the pair continued for 3 days in sexual<br />
activities, not taking exact notes on duration, frequency etc. In heat time, we did not notice any<br />
other change in behavior. Food was taken regularly.” (Trebbau, 1978).<br />
Chapter 2 Section 10C describes which situations may be responsible for breeding failure in<br />
captivity. E.g. it may be possible that when siblings from the same litter are reared <strong>and</strong> reach<br />
sexual maturity together, they will not breed if they are housed together as a potential breeding<br />
pair. It may also be possible, that if unrelated giant otters are reared together or introduced well<br />
before they reach sexual maturity, <strong>and</strong> they reach sexual maturity together, they will not breed.<br />
Recently it has been reported that a few giant otters that are sexually mature <strong>and</strong> that have been<br />
paired together for nearly a year or more, have mated, but the females did not become pregnant.<br />
This has occurred at 3 institutions (Philadelphia Zoo, Dallas World Aquarium & Dortmund<br />
Zoo) with 3 different pairs. At least two of these animals have also been reported to display<br />
estrus cycles/mating at unusual intervals. For example, mating occurred <strong>and</strong> then 2 weeks to<br />
one month later, matings occurred again. On at least one occasion a false pregnancy was<br />
reported with these particular otters. None of these females have ever given birth before they<br />
were mated with their current partners. At least two or all of the females have never been paired<br />
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