Giant Otters in US Zoos

F

FSBlue

Well-Known Member
This was prompted from the Komodo Dragon thread. As more zoos are looking to upgrade their South American exhibits, it seems Giant Otters are growing in demand in the US. However, there are only 17 animals currently in the US in 5 zoos. The breakdown looks like

Dallas 1.3
Jacksonville 2.0
Los Angeles 1.1
Miami Metro 1.1
Philadelphia 2.5

The bulk (if not all) has been done in the US and Dallas's breeding male is the son of Philly's breeding pair. If Giant otters are going to expand in the US, new founders are critically needed.

I know Jacksonville has been hoping to get otters from their agreement with Guyana that allowed them to previously get two Jaguars, but the last I heard it is tied up in bureaucratic red tape.

So then, what is the current and future situation for Giant Otters in the US?
 
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The Los Angeles Zoo actually has a pair. I think the male came from Philly. The female came from the Cali Zoo in Colombia, so that's great news for the population.
 
Are US zoo's allowed to import from any South American zoo's even captive bred Otters?
 
@mstickmanp: I got the stats from ISIS, though I adjusted accordingly

@Mark: I believe mstickmanp answered that in the post above. As far as Jax's situation is concerned, their agreement is for wild animals that can't be reintroduced in the wild (ie pets, injured, etc.)
 
Yes he did, we must have posted at the same time as there was only the first post there when I saw the thread, lol.
 
FSBlue said:
@mstickmanp: I got the stats from ISIS, though I adjusted accordingly

@Mark: I believe mstickmanp answered that in the post above. As far as Jax's situation is concerned, their agreement is for wild animals that can't be reintroduced in the wild (ie pets, injured, etc.)
Click to expand...

Yeah, sometimes ISIS takes a while to update their data.

Also, is Jacksonville planning in importing a pair or only females?
 
When ROJ first opened Jacksonville applied to get five otters imported from Guyana and it's been a bureaucratic nightmare ever since.
 
Philadelphia Zoo Otter Info

- Recieved a brother pair (Rio and Banjo) in 1996 from Germany

- Rio left for a brazilian zoo in 2002

- A female otter (Nina) was recieved from Belize Zoo in 2002

- Nina and Banjo have there first (male) pup "Primero" in March 2004 (First Giant Otter born in a North American Zoo)

- Nina and Banjo have there second litter of pups (1 female, 2 males) "Kara", "Dante" and "Magnus" in 2005

- Nina and Banjo have there third litter of pups (1 male, 1 female) "Rojo" and "Sohno" in November 2006

- "Primero, Dante and "Magnus eave for Jacksonville Zoo in November 2007

- Nina and Banjo have there 4th pup (female) "Rose" in November 2007

- Kara leaves for Miami Metro Zoo in July 2008

- Nina and Banjo have there 5th litter of pups (all female) "Tocantins", "Tapajos" and "Paru" in August 2008

- Sohno and Rose leave for Dallas World Aquarium in late 2008/early 2009
(where they met up with Primero who was moved from Jacksonville to DWA just before them)

- Nina and Banjo have there 6th litter of pups in Summer 2009 (Atleast 3 or 4 pups, at least one or two males and one or two females)

- Rojo leaves for LA Zoo in July 2009 (Its pretty much a 99.9 thing at this point and im just saying July becuase it is enough time for him to go through quarantine and in August we finally saw him)
 
I have a couple of questions:

Where did the 3rd female at Dallas come from? and are they planning to breed the 3rd female if she is not related.

Where did the male in Miami come from?
 
The third female at DWA was from a wild-caught pair brought to DWA in 2002

The male has since passed on and I belive she is an older female but I could be wrong

I believe Primero can breed with her if she isn't to old

The Miami male is from Cali Zoo in Columbia. He was born in 2004 and is named Watoso (I think)
 
Decided to revive this thread to see where things currently are standing. Jacksonville has since added a wild male named Buddy, although the brothers are still on exhibit. Any further updates?
 
Here is a quick overview:
Dallas (DWA): 1.3 (1.1 and 0.2 - no breeding so far)
Jacksonville 3.1 (1.1 and 2.0 - no breeding so far)
Los Angeles 1.1 (several litters lost - no successful breeding)
Miami Metro 2.2 (1.1 born in February - currently growing up)
Moody Gardens 0.3
Philadelphia 4.3 (multiple litters born, breeding male close to record age, last litter reared was born June 2010)

That's it in a nutshell - for comparison: 9 zoos in Europe currently keep giant otters, five zoos breed, all of them successfully. A total of 40 giant otters is currently kept in Europe
 
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