Study on the response to external stimuli on enrichment behavior of otters (amblonyx cinereus) in captivity at Malacca Zoo

Abstract

As part a series of investigations of enrichment studies for zoo animals, two pairs of Small-clawed Otter (Amblonyx cinereus), which were housed separately, were observed for 144 hours, documenting the active and inactive behavior and response to external stimuli using several tools. The enrichment studies were divided into three experiments with four phases in each experiment. The data was collected for six days per experiment. The external stimuli were provided only at Phase 2 and Phase 3. Active behavior observed were swimming, moving, rubbing, feeding ( eating and foraging) and playing while the inactive behaviors were sleeping, resting and observing.