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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vitamin B 1 tablet <strong>and</strong> one 400 IU vitamin E geltab per otter daily, <strong>and</strong> in addition 1 tablet of K-<br />
dec 3 times/week per adult otter.] This was offered until at least June 1999. Their diet before<br />
Feb. 1997 consisted of mainly fresh water rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri), fresh water channel<br />
catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), mackerel (Scomber scombrus), <strong>and</strong> red salmon (Oncorhynchus<br />
nerka). (Salmon was not offered when it was out of season.) (Note herring (Clupea harengus),<br />
common carp (Cyprinus carpio), bass (Micropterus sp.), <strong>and</strong> tilapia were also offered at times.)<br />
In 2/1997 the salt-water fish mackerel <strong>and</strong> herring were eliminated from their diet <strong>and</strong> catfish<br />
<strong>and</strong> salmon were no longer offered. Also, at this time their principal diet was changed to fresh<br />
water rainbow trout. This diet remained basically unchanged until at least June 1999. (The<br />
otters were fed three to five times per day <strong>and</strong> all fish had been frozen <strong>and</strong> thawed.)<br />
The same acute severe problem that was observed to be displayed by Banjo on Feb. 1, 1997 at<br />
the Philadelphia Zoo was also observed to occur, on one occasion, in an almost 3 year old male<br />
giant otter, that was held in Dortmund Zoo in Germany (Osmann, pers. comm. April 6, 1997,<br />
2001 & unpublished report 2004). I.e. the animal was seen dragging its hind end, hind legs <strong>and</strong><br />
tail on the ground <strong>and</strong> having acute hind leg stiffness etc.. This occurred on January 29, 1993.<br />
Corticosteroids, phenylbutazon <strong>and</strong> antibiotics were administered over a period of two weeks.<br />
The otter recovered <strong>and</strong> this acute severe problem as just described above was reported to never<br />
occur again (this report was concluded in June 2004). An x-ray of the vertebral column (done in<br />
March 1993) showed a slight lesion on one lumbar vertebra. It was assumed, as no other<br />
reasons for this occurrence were evident, that perhaps the animal might have been hit by a<br />
wooden trunk while it was playing. Note: on occasion, between March 1993 <strong>and</strong> May 1993 this<br />
otter exhibited hind leg stiffness <strong>and</strong> was found shuffling his hind legs/feet on the floor rather<br />
than lifting them normally off of the floor when he was walking. Mild to severe cases of this<br />
type of problem were reported, although none of these cases were as severe as that which<br />
occurred in January <strong>and</strong> the animal did not act if he was paralyzed in the hind end/lower back<br />
<strong>and</strong> hind legs as he acted before. Between March <strong>and</strong> April some medications were<br />
administered for this problem, but they did not resolve the problem. Then finally in May 1993<br />
a nonsteroid antiphlogisticum called “Metacam”/Fa. Boehringer Ingelheim (drog: meloxicam)<br />
was administered together with phenylbutazon <strong>and</strong> he recovered completely during the next<br />
weeks.<br />
This affected otter was held in an enclosure with mostly all hard surfaces, although the<br />
enclosure had an appropriate l<strong>and</strong> to water ratio. The otter did have access to a deep s<strong>and</strong> area<br />
for deep digging in his outdoor enclosure, although access was limited during colder<br />
temperatures. The affected otter <strong>and</strong> his brother, both from the same litter, were held in the<br />
aforementioned enclosure together. Both of the animals were held in this enclosure for approx.<br />
2 years before the acute severe health problem described in the paragraph above first occurred.<br />
(The otter that did not have problems was sent to another zoo approx. one year <strong>and</strong> 3 months<br />
after his brother was first affected.) These otters were not exposed to stairs within any of their<br />
enclosures <strong>and</strong> the otters did not encounter other structures/surfaces where they had to regularly<br />
climb on to access or utilize it. (Note: Years later, the affected otter was observed to have<br />
developed on-going walking difficulties because of continued exposure to hard surfaces. He<br />
fully recovered, without any medical treatment, after the l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> floor surfaces of his<br />
enclosures were covered with soft loose natural substrates.)<br />
The giant otters at Dortmund were fed mainly with fresh water fish to avoid the high fat content<br />
found in sea fish (Osmann, pers. comm. April 6, 1997). (The specific type of fish were not<br />
listed in this pers. comm., although see below for the fish types that were fed in 1997/1998 that<br />
were similar to the diet fed in the early 1990’s.) Osmann also reported that the amount of fish<br />
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