International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Chapter 2 Section 3). For example, during cub-rearing in colder temperatures otter families may need to be held in indoor enclosures, without outdoor access, for as long as 4-5 months. This fact alone and the problems that can arise from the aforementioned inappropriate conditions must be given careful consideration when indoor enclosures are designed and furnished. E.g. problems can include very damp/wet conditions that can cause cub infection/death and other health problems, behavioral problems that negatively affect cub-rearing success, etc. Providing space that is large enough for the entire family to be able to sufficiently (i.e. to maintain behavioral and physical health) and comfortably carry out all of their terrestrial and aquatic activities during these long periods (or any extended cold periods, whether cubrearing or not) must also be considered. In temperate climates and when adjoining outdoor enclosures are at least 165 m² in size, indoor enclosures should provide at least a 60 m 2 (645.84 ft²) area where terrestrial, and when necessary aquatic activities, can be carried out. If water areas are not necessary indoors, the minimum size recommendation remains the same. Additional space for dens containing nestboxes is also needed. The total indoor enclosure area should be a minimum of 75 m 2 (807.3 ft²) in size when outdoor enclosures, that are at least 165 m² (1,776 ft²) in size or above, are provided in temperate climates and when otters have access to both enclosures. This is certainly not an optimal size, instead it is only minimal. In a 75 m 2 (807.3 ft²) enclosure (that requires a swim area), the land area must constitute approx. 77.19% (or 57.89 m 2 [623 ft²] land area) of the total enclosure area. A 165 m² enclosure requires 67.81% land area. Both outdoor and indoor enclosures combined should be at least a total minimum size of 240 m 2 . It is important to note that if indoor enclosures do not provide access to outdoor enclosures they should be at least 240 m 2 (2,583.4 ft²) in total size. Following are examples of giant otter enclosures: Criatorio Crocodilo Safari (Brazil) has a huge natural outdoor giant otter exhibit that is 14 hectares (34.6 acres) in size. Cuiabá Zoo’s (Brazil) very expansive natural outdoor enclosure measures 4,282 m 2 (46,091.4 ft²) (Marcato de Oliveira 1995; Louzada da Silva, pers. comm. 1998). The enclosure has natural underground dens. Americana Zoo’s (Brazil) 895 m 2 (9,633.78 ft²) expansive natural outdoor enclosure contains a 519 m 2 (5,586.51 ft²) natural pool and 376 m 2 (4,047.26 ft²) land area. Chestnut Centre’s (UK) 767 m 2 (8,255.98 ft²) natural deciduous forest outdoor exhibit, with a 1:1 land to water area, connects to a 64 m 2 (688.9 ft²) heated indoor living area plus additional area for dens with nestboxes. Otters are given access to both areas all year. The outdoor enclosure includes a natural pond (with a maximum pond depth of 2 m [6.56 ft]), stream, and swamp area, all with aquatic vegetation. The pond, dug by man, is naturally fed with flow through spring water via the stream. Vegetation is allowed to grow naturally throughout the enclosure and areas of deep sand are additionally provided. Brasilia Zoo (Brazil) has two expansive semi-natural outdoor exhibits covered with soft loose soil and vegetation. The enclosures have plentiful hillsides where the otters have dug many underground dens. Each exhibit measures 635 m 2 (6,835.14ft²) with a 105 m 2 (1,130.22 ft²) pool and an 85% land to 15% water ratio. Dortmund Zoo’s (Germany) 350 m 2 (3,767.4 ft²) outdoor enclosure connects to a 90m 2 (968.76 ft²) heated indoor exhibit. Otters have access to both enclosures all year. The indoor and outdoor enclosure land is covered with mulch and/or sand, deep digging areas, deep leaf piles, live growing and "man-made bamboo stands", and logs etc.. Trees and bushes are also provided outdoors. All pools are furnished with large logs, branches, and boulders. Sorocaba Zoo (Brazil) has a 314 m 2 (3,379.89 ft²) outdoor enclosure with a 119 m 2 (1,280.91 ft²) pool and an approx. 60% land to 40% water ratio. 78
*Note: Duplaix’s guidelines for otters are species specific and based on extensive research and long-term studies both in captivity and in the field (esp. on giant otters). These guidelines have been frequently recognized and used internationally, since the 1970’s to the present, as the desired minimum housing standards for various river otter species in captivity. Section 2 Note: The definition of the following terms should be reviewed to properly interpret the content below. “Enclosure” and “exhibit” are used interchangeably. They refer to any/all areas, both indoors and outdoors, in which a captive otter is held or has access to, regardless of whether or not public/visitors can view these areas or the areas are intended for temporary or permanent use. They include such areas as dens, off-exhibit holding and quarantine areas, separable enclosure areas, and areas on-exhibit (i.e. for public viewing), etc.. “Land” refers to any base surface, whether man-made (e.g. concrete, tile, artificial rockwork, wood, floor etc.) or natural ground (e.g. soil, mulch, sand, rock etc.), within the giant otters’ indoor and outdoor enclosures. These areas do not include the portion of the enclosure that is intended for water (i.e. a swimming/wading area). The term “floor” may be used in addition to the term “land” for greater clarification. Introduction to Substrates & How to Easily Make Inappropriate Land and Floor Surfaces Appropriate The necessity of the following provisions can not be overemphasized as they are just as important as providing a swimming area. There are particular substrate types, qualities, and depths and husbandry techniques that are needed to ensure that the substrate provided is functionally effective, that it can be appropriately used by the otters, and that it will maintain or improve the otter’s physical and mental/behavioral health and normality. The recommended furnishings are inexpensive, very effective, easy to care for, remain sanitary, and at each institution at least one or more of these substrates are easy to acquire. They also can be easily provided in both indoor and outdoor enclosures whether the giant otter enclosure is already in use or not and regardless of any existing substrate/surface within the enclosure. The reasons why these provisions are necessary are not explained within this section. See Chapter 2 Section 3 for an explanation. Nearly the entire area of enclosure land and floor substrates that otters are directly exposed to must not be hard, tightly packed/compacted (i.e. they are not loose enough for otters to easily dig into), artificial, continually wet or very damp, slow drying, or poor draining and no area must be coarse (e.g. contain pebbles, gravel, small rocks, construction sand), rough, or abrasive. When otters are not offered these conditions health problems and/or abnormalities will result; see Chapter 2 Section 3. Other than within a small area/proportion of their indoor and outdoor enclosures, otters must not have direct exposure to the following land and floor substrates: concrete, cement, gunnite, tile, artificial or natural rockwork, bricks, wood; soil (with/without vegetation) that is poor draining, slow drying, or tightly packed/compacted; boulders, smooth rounded rocks/river rocks > approx. 20 cm diameter, or any other hard, tightly packed/compacted (i.e. they are not loose enough for 79
Page 1 and 2:
International Giant Otter Studbook
Page 3 and 4:
Dear reader, With this, the second
Page 5 and 6:
Section 2 Introduction to Substrate
Page 7 and 8:
Parental Behavior Overview.........
Page 9 and 10:
Introduction This manual is a secon
Page 11 and 12:
Contributing Institutions/Individua
Page 13 and 14:
Dortmund Zoo: Current Director: Dr.
Page 15 and 16:
Giant Otter Characteristics (The fo
Page 17 and 18:
Chapter 1 Husbandry and Management
Page 19 and 20:
informal international network has
Page 21 and 22:
are only released into the wild, th
Page 23 and 24:
malfunctions, due to severe inbreed
Page 25 and 26:
maturity (i.e. at 2 years old), the
Page 27 and 28:
emaining 3 institutions bred otters
Page 29 and 30: elow 240 m² (2,583.4 ft²) in size
Page 31 and 32: difficulties/abnormalities to a mod
Page 33 and 34: are to the water, but it is also de
Page 35 and 36: deep digging areas as recommended,
Page 37 and 38: greater problems. I.e. the ability
Page 39 and 40: additions that can be made to enclo
Page 41 and 42: (esp. around approx. 10 to 11 years
Page 43 and 44: Hagenbecks Tierpark Giant Otter Vac
Page 45 and 46: Dietary Related Problems: Diarrhea
Page 47 and 48: times over 10 years) then disappear
Page 49 and 50: Thyroid Malfunctions: see Chapter 1
Page 51 and 52: unpublished report 1997). His hind
Page 53 and 54: vitamin B 1 tablet and one 400 IU v
Page 55 and 56: otters were exposed to in their enc
Page 57 and 58: animal, e.g. for serious/life threa
Page 59 and 60: conditions/problems can be identifi
Page 61 and 62: that the otters are very familiar a
Page 63 and 64: Section 5 Handrearing Captive-Born
Page 65 and 66: Chapter 5 for how to measure, Chapt
Page 67 and 68: proper authorities (i.e. park offic
Page 69 and 70: oth cubs were adopted by a wild ott
Page 71 and 72: Chapter 2: Husbandry and Management
Page 73 and 74: The following conditions (i.e. Numb
Page 75 and 76: The provision of the conditions lis
Page 77 and 78: proportionately increased and the w
Page 79: does not offer the same advantages
Page 83 and 84: dry easily, drain well, and be resi
Page 85 and 86: It is necessary that every indoor a
Page 87 and 88: Deep Digging Area Necessary For Eac
Page 89 and 90: play, exercise etc. on. Note: when
Page 91 and 92: Cleaning Procedures for Substrates
Page 93 and 94: [4”] in width, could be placed 10
Page 95 and 96: The aforementioned problems are cau
Page 97 and 98: difficulties/abnormalities involvin
Page 99 and 100: they could cause similar walking di
Page 101 and 102: It is not uncommon that pink foot/t
Page 103 and 104: No additional or detailed informati
Page 105 and 106: provided as recommended, so that ot
Page 107 and 108: housed. It also may be that the lon
Page 109 and 110: or high humidity, esp. extended per
Page 111 and 112: dry areas in enclosures should also
Page 113 and 114: These husbandry provisions produce
Page 115 and 116: underground den building which is a
Page 117 and 118: more unsuitable the enclosure land
Page 119 and 120: unfamiliar and temporarily separate
Page 121 and 122: exposed to similar situations as ju
Page 123 and 124: inappropriate the enclosure conditi
Page 125 and 126: study. They also have been successf
Page 127 and 128: furnishings will also remain drier
Page 129 and 130: Live growing bamboo springs back up
Page 131 and 132:
Section 5 Locations and Designs for
Page 133 and 134:
all substrates) with/without vegeta
Page 135 and 136:
indoors. Otters can also use each c
Page 137 and 138:
Enclosures between 240 m² to 600 m
Page 139 and 140:
other than substrates, and toys fro
Page 141 and 142:
to help prevent water filtration/dr
Page 143 and 144:
Section 10B discusses the locations
Page 145 and 146:
areas may be sufficient when otters
Page 147 and 148:
their normal daily terrestrial acti
Page 149 and 150:
described below and in Section 12 b
Page 151 and 152:
hear, that even familiar keepers ar
Page 153 and 154:
nervous in behavior even during nor
Page 155 and 156:
expansive enclosures are available
Page 157 and 158:
the husbandry practices recommended
Page 159 and 160:
keep cubs from crawling out (Duplai
Page 161 and 162:
Chapter 1 for studies that should b
Page 163 and 164:
practices and enclosure designs all
Page 165 and 166:
care for the cubs (Schenck & Schenc
Page 167 and 168:
was moved to another enclosure (Gat
Page 169 and 170:
Inbreeding, physical, behavioral, a
Page 171 and 172:
underground dens in this expansive
Page 173 and 174:
Section 12 Natural Underground Dens
Page 175 and 176:
22.34 ft] (11 sites) ; Kabo creek (
Page 177 and 178:
Section 13 Den Construction “Den
Page 179 and 180:
should not be introduced with physi
Page 181 and 182:
door) could instead be made in the
Page 183 and 184:
Section 15 Toys & Methods for Addit
Page 185 and 186:
Although once items such as cardboa
Page 187 and 188:
e designed or modified with these c
Page 189 and 190:
Section 18 Introducing Unfamiliar &
Page 191 and 192:
have been housed together and then
Page 193 and 194:
contact introduction, i.e. to stop
Page 195 and 196:
Section 19 Diet and Feeding Only go
Page 197 and 198:
Cuiaba Zoo in Brazil (Marcato de Ol
Page 199 and 200:
are consumed in varying amounts acc
Page 201 and 202:
Captive giant otters have been obse
Page 203 and 204:
part of the target. The target we u
Page 205 and 206:
to secure the guillotine door with
Page 207 and 208:
it stays close to the target. This
Page 209 and 210:
these births may go undetected. Ult
Page 211 and 212:
those working with her, from being
Page 213 and 214:
ody temperatures to be taken, when
Page 215 and 216:
abnormally frequent or excessive, i
Page 217 and 218:
with a male (other than growing up
Page 219 and 220:
of course, because information rega
Page 221 and 222:
seen entering the shelter alone, bu
Page 223 and 224:
At Hagenbeck Tierpark, Wünnemann (
Page 225 and 226:
52.5 cm [20.6"]. It is assumed that
Page 227 and 228:
cub weight growth curve in Graph 2
Page 229 and 230:
contain glucose rather than sucrose
Page 231 and 232:
and frequency after each toileting/
Page 233 and 234:
Section 4 Toileting: To produce eli
Page 235 and 236:
when no other better formula is ava
Page 237 and 238:
prepared artificial milk replacers
Page 239 and 240:
avoid dietary problems and help cub
Page 241 and 242:
formula is accomplished. When cubs
Page 243 and 244:
suggested above. The same feeding f
Page 245 and 246:
successfully can often be difficult
Page 247 and 248:
should then be allowed to lick the
Page 249 and 250:
The general guideline that food/for
Page 251 and 252:
very gently dipped in the bowl into
Page 253 and 254:
enough), and explore while under su
Page 255 and 256:
dig into, well-draining etc.) are n
Page 257 and 258:
ecome healthy and their housing can
Page 259 and 260:
Section 16 Companion Cubs and Handr
Page 261 and 262:
Cubs must exercise and explore to p
Page 263 and 264:
Table 3 : Summary of the internatio
Page 265 and 266:
Table 5 : International giant otter
Page 267 and 268:
Days/ Months Sex Weight/Length (ent
Page 269 and 270:
Table 7: Adult Giant Otter Weights
Page 271 and 272:
Graph 2 : Giant Otter Cub Weight Gr
Page 273 and 274:
Duplaix, N. 1980. Observations on t
Page 275 and 276:
asiliensis, Gmelin, 1788) No Zooló
Page 277 and 278:
Otter Colloquium Pietermaritzburg 1
show all

International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?