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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unpublished report 1997). His hind legs also appeared very stiff. He almost appeared as if he<br />
was paralyzed in the hind end/lower back <strong>and</strong> legs, although otherwise he did not appear or act<br />
sick. He progressively <strong>and</strong> dramatically improved within two hours <strong>and</strong> by the end of the day<br />
he was able to walk fairly normally. During the day he progressively became less stiff in his<br />
hind legs when he was walking. Throughout the day (after his dramatic recovery in the 2 hours<br />
noted) he was active, playing, <strong>and</strong> appeared otherwise normal <strong>and</strong> ate well. On the next<br />
morning he was a little stiff in the hind legs, but he was eating well <strong>and</strong> active <strong>and</strong> then he<br />
appeared totally normal. No medical treatment or medications were administered for this<br />
problem. This acute severe problem was reported to never occur again (this report was<br />
concluded in June 2004).<br />
Note: On three separate occasions, one occurring in March 1997, April 1997, <strong>and</strong> August 1997,<br />
Banjo was observed with hind leg stiffness <strong>and</strong> was found shuffling his hind legs/feet on the<br />
floor rather than lifting them normally off of the floor when he was walking. In March 1997<br />
<strong>and</strong> April 1997, his brother named Rio, was found occasionally during these months also<br />
exhibiting the same behaviors as just described in the last sentence. Since the last occurrences<br />
noted, both of these otters exhibited the same problems as just aforementioned on rare occasions<br />
in the summers <strong>and</strong> the winters that followed until at least June 1999 (when this report was<br />
concluded). (Note: these animals did not display the aforementioned problems continually<br />
throughout the day on which they were noted to occur. They only occurred over a short period<br />
of time, usually this was after the animal first had risen from sleeping. This problem resolved<br />
shortly, i.e. within a few to several minutes or more after the animal first moved about. This<br />
problem had to be closely monitored or it could have been easily missed. E.g. it may or may not<br />
have occurred before March 1997.) No medical care was given for these problems. The<br />
physical problems that were reported to occur with both animals since the beginning of March<br />
1997 were mild in their appearance compared to those that Banjo displayed on Feb. 1, 1997<br />
which were severe in appearance. It seems reasonable to assume that these two types of<br />
problems (i.e. those reported in the paragraph above vs. those in this paragraph) were not related<br />
as they (comparatively) appeared very different in severity <strong>and</strong> one type was reoccurring <strong>and</strong> the<br />
other occurred only once. It seems that the problem that occurred occasionally may be related<br />
to the significant exposure that the animals had to hard surfaces or the significant amount that<br />
the otters had to climb, or to both problems (see below). This might possibly have been the<br />
early developmental stages of the on-going <strong>and</strong> progressive walking difficulties seen in some<br />
giant otters that have been continually exposed to hard surfaces for long periods, i.e. three or<br />
more years (although the giant otters with this ongoing health problem were not exposed to<br />
situations where they had to climb).<br />
In response to the Philadelphia Zoo’s inquiry about what factors may have caused the acute<br />
severe problem seen displayed by Banjo on Feb. 1, 1997, the following was communicated.<br />
Wünnemann (pers. comm. March 26, 1997) commented that he regards the hind legs as the<br />
weak point of giant otters. He commented, in captivity they move much more on l<strong>and</strong> than in<br />
the wild <strong>and</strong> especially when they are moving on hard surfaces or climbing a lot there may be an<br />
overload on the hind legs or the last part of the spine. [See in Chapter 2 Section 3A how<br />
exposure to hard surfaces caused on-going walking difficulties among some giant otters <strong>and</strong> soft<br />
surfaces were needed to resolve <strong>and</strong> prevent these problems.] In order to deal with<br />
[avoid/reduce/resolve] problems involving the hind legs <strong>and</strong> lower back, Wünnemann advised<br />
the following. Avoid that the animals become overweight, modify the enclosure so that the<br />
otters do not have to regularly (daily) climb to access areas (they climb enough voluntarily<br />
while playing), <strong>and</strong> give them a lot of area where they can exercise <strong>and</strong> move about on soft<br />
surfaces. He also states that giant otters are very curious. If there is something that is of interest<br />
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