Hello.....Otters!

[OscarOtter]

Hi everyone

My name is Gareth - I am passionate about Otters. I have a pet Otter called Oscar.

I also have some videos about Otters that you can check out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0k2inuMIPY YouTube - Oscar my Pet Otter & Training Otters - Target Training?

Thanks! And I look forward to spending some time here.

 

[karoocheetah]

Hi everyone

My name is Gareth - I am passionate about Otters. I have a pet Otter called Oscar.

I also have some videos about Otters that you can check out

YouTube - Oscar my Pet Otter & Training Otters - Target Training?

Thanks! And I look forward to spending some time here.

Wow Gareth - Welcome to Zoo Chat and I'm insanely Jealous about Oscar too how did you end up with an Otter and the enclosure you're in in the video is great - where is it?

oodles more questions to come!

 

[OscarOtter]

Thanks! I heard about him through a friend - his owner couldnt keep him anymore as she lost her job. So, having worked with two Otters before I couldnt wait to look after him. He is hand reared, has always lived on his own (which is unusual for Otters) but he is happy that way. He got attacked when they tried to integrate him. Unblieveable that I have to have £1,000,000 worth of insurance in case he breaks out. Savage you know.

Hopefully through my videos and the comparison with him and the other two people can really see what Asian Short Clawed Otters are like.

The last enclosure is one I designed to have as much green as possible in it. Otters like it, and contrary to popular belief you can keep plants in the enclosure witout them shredding them if you manage them right.

 

[foz]

Welcome to zoochat OscarOtter

 

[KCZooFan]

Welcome to zoochat from a fellow otter lover.

Do you have any knowlege of the difficulty of an Asian small-clawed otter against, say a European river otter, or maybe even a giant otter? I would think they would be easier due to their size, but I've been wrong before.

 

[OscarOtter]

Hi there, absolutely size is important to consider, we cant get away from the consequences of the size of bite should it occur. However, reading a lot fo documents on training I think certain points like the detail of your excersises (body language, smell, clothing, voice tone etc) with them can certainly cross over. I am not for one second accusing anyone directly, but I think sometimes we develop strict routines and rules and see an infraction of these (such as a bite or sign of agression) as simply that and not occuring for a reason. Was there soemthing wrong? Was there something they were unhappy with? A group of cows refusing to go down a tunnel can on the face of it just look like a) they are being disobedient b) they are scared of the tunnel - but look closer and it may not be either of those things but a blade of straw on the floor half way down the tunnel itself.

But essentially, I hope through my videos people can get an insight into the capability of Otters to interact, and their kind natures (a 12 year old animal that all its life, the only contact it has had is when it is fed, is capable of what I have shown) rather than them jumpinng up and down screaming at a fence because they are hungry.

The other thing that bothers me is the idea that they are 'wild'. They are not. They are captive. And they know it. There isnt some magic doorway that lets them out into pastures and meadows when everyone goes home at night.