Caring for Selected Otter Species (Asian small-clawed, Cape ...

African (Cape) clawless otter (Aonyx capensis):
The African clawless otter is one of four species of otters
found in Africa. It is the third largest species of otter.
Only the giant otter and sea otter are larger. Adults range
in size from 1.15-1.5m (3.8-5ft), and weigh from 16-20kg
(35.3-44.1lbs) (Foster-Turley et al. 1990). The African
clawless otter has been reported as living in family
groups including the male, female, and pups (Rowe-
Rowe 1978), family groups consisting of the female and
pups, or singly (Chanin 1985). The prevalent social
grouping may vary with the habitat, which also likely
influences the size and degree of overlap of home
ranges. African clawless otters use their sensitive, nonwebbed
fingers to forage food, which consists primarily of fresh-water crabs, crayfish, and some fish. In some
areas, this species is reported to occasionally raid near-by farms for young maize and cabbages (J.Reed-Smith,
personal communication).
This species is distributed from Ethiopia in the east to Senegal in the west and south to South Africa, with
a distributional gap in the rain forest area of the Congo basin, where the Congo clawless otter is found (Rowe-
Rowe 1991). The African clawless otter is found in both fresh water streams and rivers, and along marine
coastlines in South Africa.
Due to the infrequency of the holding and exhibition of the African clawless otter in captivity, many of the
standards set for this species are extrapolated from those set by the N.A. river otter and Asian small-clawed otter
husbandry manuals. Listed on CITES as Appendix II (www.cites.org).
North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) (Photo credit: Doug Kjos, friend of Roosevelt Park Zoo)
The North American river otter is one of the four new world river otter species. There are at least seven subspecies
of L. canadensis. Adults range in size from 1-1.53m (3.3-5ft) and weigh from 4.5->16kg (9.9-35.2lbs) (Ben-David et
al. 2001a,b; Reed-Smith 2001).
Although frequently solitary, except for female with pups, the North American river otter shows a great
deal of social plasticity (particularly males), often forming groups of 8-15 or more animals in environments offering
abundant resources (Blundell et al. 2002a,b). All male groups of up to 15 individuals have been maintained
successfully in captivity (Ben-David et al. 2000). In the wild, males do not participate in pup rearing; in captivity
males can be reintroduced to the family group once the pups are swimming well and in general interact and play
with the pups. Both sexes occupy linear shaped home ranges due to their affinity for the land/water interface.
Activity centers (e.g., latrines), located within home ranges,
are important for both sexes. During a latrine activity study in
Pennsylvania, Stevens & Serfass (2008) documented that
visiting otters spent 72.7% of their time there smelling and
investigating, 10.9% marking, 10.6% traveling, 4.6% rolling and
rubbing, and