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

Association of Zoos and Aquariums 76
Otter (Lutrinae) Care Manual
It is recommended that all facilities have holding areas in order to shift animals into/out of their
primary enclosure. Husbandry training may occur anywhere the individual animal seems to feel
comfortable, and where the keeper can safely access them. Managers and caretakers should decide if
food rewards can be hand fed or if a meat stick should be used to deliver the food.
The following table (Table 16) provides some examples of husbandry training cues and criteria for
behaviors trained with otters at various AZA institutions. Mckay (2009) describes some basic approaches
to training otters.
Table 16: Sample behaviors & training cues for otters (provided by: *Institution F; **Institution G; ***Institution H;
^Institution I; ^^Institution J; & +Institution K). Behaviors not identified are trained at all reporting institutions.
Behavior Verbal cue Visual cue Criteria for reinforcement
Down
*
Up
*
Up
^
Stand
**
Kennel
*
Entering a crate
**
Squeeze/Crate
***/^^
Crate
+
Scale
*
Target
*
Target
**
Target
***/ ^
Target
+
Stay
**
Stay/remote
stay
^
“down” Hand flat in front of abdomen-
moved in a downward motion
“up” Index finger moved in upward
motion to place you want them to
target to
Animal lays down quietly
Animal moves to position of index
finger
“up” Left index points into the air Animal stands up
“up” Use left hand and give the thumbsup
sign
“in” Index finger used to point into the
kennel
“box” Hand begins in fist in front of chest.
As command is said, swing arm out
and up in direction of the box and
open hand into a high five.
“crate” Target into squeeze cage or point
to crate
Hand placed on chain link near
back of crate
Otter keeps both back feet on the
ground while standing up against
the cage. Front feet should be
hanging onto target pole place
against the bars.
Animal goes in kennel and allows
door to be closed
Animal will enter crate and lie down
at the far right end. Animal will wait
in position until bridged.
Animal enters and allows the door
to be closed
Animal enters and stands in the
crate, tail completely in
“scale” Index finger used to point to scale Animal gets on scale & waits
“here” Closed fist presented to front of
mesh
Nose placed at position of fist
“target” Hold up target pole Animal grabs with both hands
without biting – ASC otters
“target” Show target pole Nose placed on target and holds
until bridged
Show 15’ broom handle on fence Put nose to target
“stay” Right hand palm down and out.
While in this position, push slightly
toward animal while saying verbal
cue.
“stay” Hold hand up, palm towards the
animal
Hold fist up
Animal stands/sits still while trainer
moves away and returns
Animal stays calmly
Hold
^^
“hold” Hand cue Animal stays in place
Lying parallel to ‘lie” Palm flat out and facing down. Animal lays down parallel to and