Otter (Lutrinae) Care Manual - Association of Zoos and Aquariums

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Association of Zoos and Aquariums 54 Otter (Lutrinae) Care Manual Table 9: Ex-situ population breeding parameters of Aonyx cinereus in North American zoological facilities 1980's and 1990's (Reed-Smith & Polechla 2002, Bateman et al. 2009) Aonyx cinereus Estrus cycle 30-37 days. Polyestrual with breeding occurring year around Estrus length 1-10 days Ovulation Likely spontaneous ovulators (Bateman et al. 2009) Copulation frequency Several times a day. Copulation duration 1-30 minutes, varied. Copulation position Dorsal/Ventral most common, also ventro/ventral. Copulation location In the water and on land Copulation initiated by Varies amongst groups; in some it is initiated by male only, in others both initiate. Age at 1 st breeding Unknown Breeding behavior Increased rubbing, marking. Gestation Gestation ranges between 67 and 74 days; pseudopregnancies lasted 62 – 84 days (Bateman et al. 2009). No delayed implantation (Bateman et al. 2009) Pair management Most facilities started out with a pair when 1st litter born. Pair left together all of the time Group management Some reports of harassment of new pups by older pups (too much play), one report reported cannibalism of pups by dam. Most leave all animals together. Signs of parturition Some weight gain, more time spent in nestbox. Pupping boxes Wooden boxes, hollows under logs & burlap bags have been used. Contraception MGA implants in females. A. capensis: This species does not appear to have a specific reproductive season (Mead 1989). Breeding in the northern hemisphere has been observed in November, January, March, and April (R.Meyerson, personal communication), with pups born in January-March and June-September (R.Meyerson, personal communication). Gestation length ranges from 63-80 days depending upon the source (Estes 1989; Reed-Smith & Polechla 2002; R.Meyerson, personal communication). In one ex-situ population breeding situation, receptivity by the female lasted one day (Personal communication); in another, breeding occurred for 2-3 days (R.Meyerson, personal communication). Generally, 1-2 days before a female is receptive, the male will start following her around. All ex-situ population pairs have shown an increase in the level of interactive play behavior for several days before and after breeding. All observed copulations have occurred in the water.
Association of Zoos and Aquariums 55 Otter (Lutrinae) Care Manual Table 10: Ex-situ population breeding parameters of Aonyx capensis in North American zoological facilities 1980's and 1990's (Reed-Smith & Polechla 2002) Aonyx capensis Estrus cycle Breeding occurred in Jan, Apr, Nov & Dec for 4 litters produced. Estrus length Peak receptivity lasted 1 day; day before & after consisted of play & close following Copulation frequency Several times during the 2 nd day of breeding behavior Copulation duration Not documented. Copulation position Not documented. Copulation location In the water. Copulation initiated by Male, females would only cooperate for 1 day. Age at 1 st breeding Males from 2 yrs.10 mos.; Females from 4 yrs. 2 mos. Breeding behavior Females fought when one was in heat. Signs of estrus shown by male behavior Gestation 80, 103 days Pair management Breeding was opportunistic. Male kept away from pups by female or separated 1 week prior to expected parturition. Group management 1.2 housed together on exhibit during the day; 0.2 given 2 dens at night Signs of parturition Females gained weight particularly in fold between foreleg and body. Pupping boxes Females did not want bedding in their boxes. Given only one box, no problems. Contraception Two males have been vasectomized due to small gene pool. Females medicated for contraception. L. canadensis: These otters are seasonal breeders. Females mature reproductively as early as 12-15 months (rare reports of successful breeding at this age) to two years of age (typical). They are believed to be induced ovulators and experience delayed implantation (Chanin 1985; Reed-Smith 2001, personal observation). Recent evidence suggests that this species also may be capable of spontaneous ovulation (Bateman et al. 2009). There is evidence that breeding season varies somewhat with latitude (Reed-Smith 1994, 2001; Bateman et al. 2005, 2009) and also may be influenced by seasonal availability of food resources (Crait et al. 2006); however, the authors of the one study (Crait et al. 2006) speculating on the influence of food availability acknowledge there could have been other things occurring, and their sample size was small. In general, breeding occurs in late spring (March-June) at northern latitudes and between November- February at more southern latitudes, with a gradient in between (Reed-Smith 2001). The estrus period lasts approximately 42-46 days, unless mating occurs (Chanin 1985). Bateman et al. (2009) found that “…peaks in fecal estrogen values occurred only during the defined breeding season from December to March”. They also report, “…the estrus phase of their cycles [N=11] was observed just once per year with an average duration of 15.33±1.98 days (range: 6–54 days). The average duration of estrus elevation coincident with observed breeding (n=4) was 22.00±1.22 days (range: 19–24 days).” During this time, observations of ex-situ populations suggest peaks of maximum receptivity are roughly 3-6 days apart with intervals of only mild receptivity during which the female may completely reject the male (Liers 1951; Reed-Smith 2001). The work done by Bateman et al. calls into question the estrus duration of 42 to 46 days traditionally cited; this is an area that should be researched further. Worth noting is the slightly longer estrus (21-23 days) reported in breeding versus non-breeding females (14-17 days); also the widely varying range of estrus duration (6-54 days) reported in the Bateman et al. study. More recently, Bateman et al. (2009) have reported some additional interesting results from fecal hormone studies: “In the observed pregnancies and pseudopregnancies (n= 12), the date of initial progesterone increase ranged from September 4 to January 14, and the timing was not correlated (r=0.53, P>0.05) with the female’s geographic latitude (range: 27– 41°N) at the time of the pregnancy or pseudopregnancy. However, the date of the
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