Zoo Duisburg's Giant otters - Part II

Otter News is very excited to bring our followers this excellent series on Zoo Duisburg and the Giant otters in their care.  We extend sincere appreciation to author Ms. Béatrice Dumiche, Mr. Ulrich Kluckner, Dr. Jochen Reiter, Dr. Wolfgang Gettmann and all others involved in the production of this series.

Written & Submitted by Béatrice Dumiche

 

We pick up today from Part I which ended with a discussion of the otters’ enclosure and the importance of keeping the family groups together to mimic their wild lives...

The quality of the enclosure environment is a plus for the average visitor, but is also an important factor in gaining a better knowledge of the communication between the individuals inside the group. That’s why Zoo Duisburg collaborates with universities whose students come to the Zoo to collect reliable data on the otters’ social organization. So, the Zoo hosted a candidate working on this communication. On this level it becomes very interesting to have the opportunity to make comparisons between the two otter species living in groups yet displayed in separate enclosures which face each other.  The comparisons are obvious indeed: even from a non-scientific point of view it is easy to guess some resemblances as there is only a gradual difference in the squeaks both utter. The Asian Short-clawed otters are noisy but the giant ones have a very loud organ that can be heard from far distances.  They both express displeasure or feeding demands in similar tones.  In the same way, the fish they eat may be of different sizes; however, they

Having some tasty fish

catch and eat them similarly - they dive after their prey in the water and when they catch it, it is generally consumed on land. They hold the captured prey in their paws while devouring it from head to tail.  A characteristic view is when, at the very end, you can only see the fishtail sticking out. The most notable and ridiculously cute is to watch the giant otters sleeping thanks to a camera which has been installed in the two nest boxes hidden from the public where the otters often retire.  Primarily, they use only one of nest boxes and cuddle together like their Short-clawed fellows, revealing how flexible even their huge bodies can be.  Suddenly these muscular and strong animals, who resemble black panthers due to their smooth, extremely quick and precise movements revealing their concentrated energy, look a bit like stuffed dinosaurs who have survived from the former ages because of their tight physical and social bonds.

Grotto hiding place for the giant otters

Thus, modern zoo breeding doesn’t only mean procreation and the mere stabilization of the remaining population of an endangered species, there is of course, a biological interest in it. Dr. Reiter underlines the success of the local breed as Zoo Duisburg is now able to export to other zoological facilities young otters like Alua, Amana’s first pup, who went to Parken Zoo in Sweden and Chelsea, born in 2010, who was given to Singapore Zoo. Mr. Kluckner shows another concrete example how the Studbook is essential to refreshing the biological resources of the species, “The distinctive sign of any individual is the white spot on his forehead: no one [otter] has the same [mark] and it is significant for the transmission of the DNA through generations. The giant otters we had before our breeding success had very blurry spots; the white was faded out and the borderlines weren’t shaped out clearly and now, look at the individuals we have!  The spot is drawn very well because the breed has been renewed by the enlargement of the population [which] we can rely on to assure the revival of a species that in the wild is still threatened to extinction.”

This doesn’t mean, however, that the expanding zoo born generations are to be considered an alternative to the decreasing population in the wild, although the actual situation may lead to this impression. On the contrary of ancient prejudices, the success of giant otter breeding shows that the zoo is not a Noah’s Ark of sorts which aim is a mythical survival of a species under ideal but totally artificial conditions not allowing any projection into a future of the species because it doesn’t take into account the ability of each individual to contribute to its evolution.  To further illustrate the point, it is not a wax cabinet of extinct archetypes which can only be remembered and treasured in reserves for illustration purposes according to a historical perspective which considers animal evolution only in the context of human progress from the state of nature to civilization that sadly but inevitably leads to the disappearing of some unadapted wildlife. Actually, the development of high technology brought up the awareness of its own duplicity as it revealed the opposition between nature and civilization was an error in human judgment. The more sophisticated our knowledge of natural processes became the more evident it was that it was a dialogue with life as a dynamism which could be improved experimentally.  Potentially not yet to repair damages caused by human activity but at least to create the conscience that relates to a global understanding of evolution. Scientific and technological research – if they are taken seriously as a whole – can’t therefore do without defining their own responsibilities in interacting with nature.

Giant otter exhibit signage

During initial impressions, this may seem a philosophic digression.  But, in fact, it establishes the key role the zoo is supposed to play in ecological projects that exceed mere animal exhibition. Since nature conservation became a global concern, how large an exhibit is within a zoo, is not solely the Zoo’s decision.  The Zoo’s mission only makes sense in the context of its participation in different networks which are themselves engaged in international cooperative projects where the animal breeding program is purposed to make the zoo borns fit for survival in the wild. The data collected from otter observations at the zoo have a practical purpose. Thanks to the connection between biological research and its improvement at the zoo under primarily natural conditions, the species is not just surviving – it is able to take its destiny in its own hands as it displays an ability to adapt to a new milieu and evolve by the reappropriation of its instinctive behavior.  This concept was about to get lost.

The Zoo is far from being a mere conservation institution.  It gives a species not its supposed origin or authenticity back - it tries, on the contrary, to offer breeds a chance to evolve under new contemporary conditions which have been altered by human activity.  The Zoo enables animals, specifically the giant otters, to reinsert into the dynamic of life through a refreshed biological patrimony and reinforced instincts as it provides a spot where it can regenerate much of its niche.  Therefore, contemporary zoo policies are based on leading to a new balance for the coexistence between mankind and nature.

Part III continues next week.  Stay tuned....

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