Anang's Retiring!

If you've read any of our previous blogs on Anang, or Haley as I like to call her, you know she has recently been in her holding space recovering (beautifully!) from a fracture in her fibula. She has been doing great. She is as active as she can be, and always up for new enrichment.

 (Haley, or Anang, playing with paper towel rolls in her holding space.)

Did you know that otters in the wild usually live to be about 10 years old? Haley is 17! In captivity otters can live to be up to 25, but usually 18 years is more common. The oldest North American River Otter in captivity just passed away recently and was 21 years old. Otters can live so much longer in captivity due to their daily care, veterinarian checks, dental cleanings, and well rounded diet. 

Old otters can suffer from many of the same ailments as people can! Haley has arthritis in her back hips, and has for many years. She seems to be thriving in her holding area, which is really flat, with an in-ground pool that has easy access. 

Since she seems to be doing well, her animal care staff has decided she will be retired from her exhibit, so we can give her a comfortable, flatter space to live in. She will remain at the Great Lakes Aquarium for the rest of her life. We are hopeful that she will live in our downstairs holding area for a few more years. 

Many of you are probably wondering if she will ever get any otter friends or be introduced into another roommate. And the answer to that is no. She has seemed to really enjoy her time here alone, after Zhoosh (Clyde) passed last summer. She was so active and played so much, we had to continually up her diet to keep up with her metabolism! And, in the wild, females generally wouldn't make new friends at her age (or an age comparable to hers in the wild, maybe 8-10). Females would stay with their families or else just go on by themselves. North American River Otters are not the most social of all of the otter species. Most males will live on their own for most of their lives, and females will stay with their family until breaking off to go on their own. So Haley's instincts are to be alone, and she seems to be happy being alone.

 (Being her super cute self!)

Fortunately, her holding area will be visible to all of the behind the scenes tours. She will be moving to the space before the summer months, but the actual date is still unknown. 

The space will accommodate her aging body in many ways. It is really quite flat, with ramps to get to any elevated areas, instead of steps, and has a nice size pool for exercise. Because of her arthritis, it is best to give her some space for exercise, but not too much to make her joints more sore. 

We are excited for her to move to this space, and we hope that you will come visit her on our behind the scenes tours! 

 

(Enjoying her mackerel, which she had to pull out of the red ball to the right! It took her almost ten minutes!) 

Here an otter, there an otter!

The staff at the Great Lakes Aquarium is excited to tell you that we have two new resident North American River Otters! 

 

These two otters have come to us from DuPont, Louisiana. Together, they were trapped in a crawfish farm by a local trapper. They had been eating the crawfish at the farm, and had become nuisance animals. North American River Otters are not endangered or threatened, so in this case, these two otters would have been lethally trapped. Another man paid the trapper to live trap them and then he brought them to his space, where he holds otters until they can be placed in a zoo or aquarium setting. Demand for North American River Otters is high, so he holds them usually only for a few weeks. 

 (This is shortly after we got them. You can see their transport crate with the MSP label on it!)

We found this man through an otter specialist, and he came highly recommended. Other well known zoos and aquariums have also gotten otters from him. 

(We had put out a request on the official list for placement of any otters that needed a new home, and we had also contacted many, many wildlife rehabilitation centers and individuals. Last year, we heard of only two otters (in the US) that were rehabbed and placed in captivity; all the rest were released! That is great, and the point of a rehabber.)

Within only two weeks of contacting the source, Heidi (the curator) and I were headed down to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to pick them up. They were each in their own wooden crate, with holes along the top for air flow, but very little visibility. That can be scary for an animal that has no idea of what is going on. A gentleman with a forklift put them in our van, and we got on our way. 

Upon arriving to the Great Lakes Aquarium, we unloaded them onto a cart and wheeled them inside our holding area. We weighed each crate with the hopes of getting a weight for each otter once we could weigh their crates, eventually.  We placed a few piles of fish outside their crates and then pulled the doors off. We left the room and watched from behind the window. They came out within a few short minutes and ate right away. Then, the took a few drinks of water and explored their surroundings. 

Heidi worked with them alone for about a week so they would get used to her coming in with food and not being too scary. She fed them 2-3 times per day. Then, once they were ready to eat right through the bars of their area, I started helping to feed, too (it is much easier to each feed one otter!). 

 (Curator Heidi is feeding one through the bars of the holding space.)

It is really important with any new animals, including our pets, to earn their trust. We wanted them to know that they are safe here and we won't hurt them. We let them dictate the speed at which we work. It took until day 8 for me to start feeding with Heidi because the day before they showed her that they were starting to trust her by eating from her hand or coming right up to her on the other side of the bars. They also have each chosen their "station" of where they want to eat, and they will go there every time we go in with food dishes. This is telling us that they know how to learn and how to target. We will target train them so we can build on that basic training. (Target training for an otter means we hold a target and when we ask them to target, they put their nose onto the target.) If they respond to target training, they can be targeted to a scale, into a crate, or to move elsewhere. When they are ready to go inside a crate and have the door shut, we can move them upstairs, to the holding area off the exhibit. They  will dictate the speed at which everything is done. 

So, you are probably wondering what they are like, how they look, and all sorts of things about them! Firstly, we are told (by the man who kept them until we took them), that he thinks they are both females. At this point, because it isn't breeding season, if one is a male, we won't know yet. Also, their thick fur and skin folds prevent us from determining their sex clearly. So, at first I was calling one "the brave one" or "Clyde junior". She looks a lot like a mini Clyde! The other one is more shy and took a few days longer to warm up to us. I call her "the shy one". But now, it is almost hard to tell which one is brave and which one is shy! But, one (the "shy" one) is a bit darker, just a tiny bit, and has ears that stick out a bit more. She also has beautiful white, sharp, large teeth! The other one has smaller teeth. (We are hoping to use their teeth to help determine their ages.) They love to eat! They are still getting used to toys and blankets, but they like to carry straw around, make beds, and a huge mess! They are already really comfortable in their space! 

 (This is the one that was more shy at first. She is getting a shrimp off of the plastic duck toy.)

 (This is the one that has always been a bit more brave. She is eating a shrimp.)

We hope to have some sort of public naming contest or public participation in their naming. Most likely, we will start after the public gets to see them on exhibit. To keep up with the latest information on how they will get their names, please check our Facebook page, our website, or future blog posts!

And, as the time draws near to when they will make their first appearance on the exhibit, we will make sure to get the word out as much as we can so everyone can come see them! 

We hope you are as excited as we are to welcome them to our facility!

A Ship(wreck)'s Log II

Hello, again. I am so excited to bring you the next installment in A Ship(wreck)'s log. The last few weeks have been a flurry of activity. So let's raise the sails and begin.

Our construction team has renovated the exhibit hall to give us 250 more square feet of exhibit space, and completed the platforms for our aquariums. The aquariums are currently being built in California  and will be here in the next couple of weeks.
One of our aquariums will hold 10,000 gallons of water and is 18 feet long. The other aquarium will hold 4,000 gallons of water and will be 16 feet long. The platforms have to be pretty strong because our largest tank will be 80,000 pounds. Now since the platforms are finished the construction team can start building the rest of the exhibit.

Gary and Tom are constructing the platform for the ancient shipwreck display. This platform will hold the 10,000 gallon aquarium.

This platform is for the 4,000 gallon Pacific wreck.

Here's an example of exhibit walls.

Gary is doing some research on a curve at the top of one of the exhibit walls. This wall will be part of a graphic display for the Pacific Wreck exhibit.

Working on opening up the space.

Our husbandry team has been receiving new fish for the exhibit. Many of the fish we have come from accredited suppliers and from other zoos and aquariums.  But our newest residents are fish which were pets that became a bit too big for their homes.
Word to the wise, always do research on an animal before you buy it. I have seen many situations where adorable little fish have grown into over-sized predators . So make sure that the animal is a good life-long fit for your aquarium.
Here's a good example. One of the fish we received is a juvenile nurse shark. The nurse shark can grow to 14 feet as an adult and is a literal fish vacuum, so be wary.

This Nurse shark is very curious and is loving her new temporary home.

Hello from the Peacock grouper

This is one beautiful panther grouper, and I think he knows it.

In the next couple of weeks we will be finishing the installation of our filtration system and placing one of the new aquariums.  So make sure to look for the next installment of a Ship(wreck)'s Log, because it is really going to be exciting.

Until next time, fair winds and calm seas!

Jay

The Road to Otter Health, part III

(Editor's note: While Anang is off exhibit healing a broken bone we're continuing to provide behind-the-scenes looks at what she's doing to keep busy.)

If you've ever seen our otter exhibit, Otter Cove, or any of our bird exhibits for that matter, you might have noticed lots of "stuff" in them? Like small balls, logs, cardboard boxes, plastic animals, small pom poms, and blocks. We call these things enrichment.

What is enrichment? And why do we give enrichment? How on earth is a little box an enrichment? Well, let me tell you. Enrichment is a way to enhance animal environments, within the context of their own natural history. Changes to the exhibit are made with the goal of increasing animal's behavioral choices, or giving them more to do.

So, for example, we give our Green Wing Macaw, Leo, boxes with treats inside. You might say, "wait, he wouldn't get cardboard boxes out in the rainforest!" You're right.  But, he would have to find his food inside of things or all over the rainforest. So, instead of just giving him a pile of food, we put some of it all over his cage so he has to forage for it. 

With Anang (or Haley as we call her), our North American River Otter, we try to give her things that will bring out natural behaviors. One thing she loves to do it groom, so we give her snow, sand, straw, excelsior, turf, and blankets of different fabrics. We rotate them so she doesn't get sick of them. But, we also give her other things.  For example, today I gave her a dog kong. She really loves this purple kong. She has other kongs; red, green, pink, all of varying sizes and thickness, but the purple one is the favorite.

This morning I put one smelt into the kong, and she played with it for hours, seriously!

She took it in and out of the water and tried so hard to get that smelt!

She really liked my camera today, so she kept turning around to face it, and got super close.

 

 She thought maybe if she took it up on her little shelf she could get it out, but, no luck yet!

 

Trying so hard to get that smelt!

This one is my absolute favorite. (I am taking all of these through her holding bars, so that is why the angles and closeness are kind of strange!) This shows a great view of her super sharp claws and some of her whiskers. You can also see her cute little nose.

The Road to Otter Health, part II

Who isn't getting sick of the snow? I certainly am. But, I know someone who loves every little snowflake that she can get her paws on!

At least someone appreciates all the snow we've gotten around here this winter!

Anang (also known as Haley) has always loved the snow. We've noticed that when she gets buckets (and buckets and buckets!) of snow, she plays for a lot longer then she might normally with other "toys" at one time.

Today I gave her five buckets of snow in her holding area, where she is spending all of her time to heal. This is the reaction I got! 

We've also found that the cold snow really helps with any inflammation (as it is hard to give her ice packs to hold on her arthritic joints or leg). After playing in snow, she seems more mobile and active, which is great! 

The Road to Otter Health, part I

(Editor's note:  Anang the river otter is often called Haley by Aquarium staff.  It is her nickname and the name she had when she arrived at GLA more than a decade ago.) 


"Haley has a WHAT!?!" 

When the vet came back from looking at Haley's x-rays (which we do routinely at each exam, especially since she has arthritis), she simply stated "She has a fracture in her fibula." Curator Heidi and I were so surprised! Sure enough, you could see a little fracture in that tiny bone next to her tibia.

Well, let's start from the beginning. About a week before her vet visit, we noticed that she seemed a bit lethargic, and she didn't always have a good appetite. We did a fecal exam (just like your vets do for dogs and cats) to rule out any parasites or large amounts of gut bacteria. We always do those first to make sure it isn't something we can simply medicate for without sedating her. It came back normal. When after a few days she didn't seem to be feeling much better, we decided to make an appointment at the vet.

This is where her training comes in really handy. She is VERY smart. She hates going to the vet, and we never force an animal to do anything...so we let her decide if she will go in her transport crate. She didn't want to, so we tried again last Tuesday. This time, she went in willingly, but was still surprised when I closed her in.

Anyways, we did a routine check of her entire body, just like a regular checkup. And, all of her teeth look great (you know when you have a sore tooth? They can REALLY hurt.). Her joints moved well, her organs felt good, so then we moved into x-ray. She has arthritis in her back hips and knees, and has for most of her adult life. So we expected to see that on those x-rays. We also look for any other abnormalities in her body cavity or kidney stones or anything else.

We did NOT expect to see a little broken fibula.

After our "What?!?", our second question was, "how do we fix it?" Poor girl!

Obviously we can't put a little cast on it! She's an otter and otters LOVE water. We were so happy to hear one of our vets say that she has the best brace we could find, an intact tibia! Phew. That is great news! So, the recovery means rest and relaxation for that leg.

Easier said than done.

While she does in fact love her bed and blankies, she also loves to swim and play. That means we have to confine her to a smaller space to reduce her movement. She is now in her holding area where she can't climb around, therefore putting less pressure on her back legs. She sometimes likes to wait by the door to go out on exhibit, but then sees her fresh pool and realizes she has to stay in back, and goes for a swim or plays with her toys.

We still give her enrichment and things to do. This morning, she got her favorite stuffed animal, a large gorilla puppet. She loves to groom him and cuddle with him.

 This is her in her half dog crate with two blankies and her gorilla. 

She seems pretty happy burrowed under those fresh blankies!

We also switch out her beds (crate, fire hose bed, dog beds, etc.), give her leaves, straw, and branches, and lots of other things.

Stay tuned for upcoming blogs on Haley.  I'll try to get some videos of her playing with enrichment!

A Ship(wreck)'s Log

Opening an exhibit is a very exciting adventure. There are many moving parts with the development of an exhibit for Great Lakes Aquarium, from designers, researchers, construction, and animal husbandry. I would like to share this experience, and offer a behind the scenes look as this exhibit begins to surface.

The ceremonial closing of the doors, on November 8, was the proverbial switch that started the construction of the exhibit.

If you are an avid reader of "Just Add Water" you may be aware of the work that has been accomplished such as moving animals from the Masters of Disguise,  the removal of the exhibit pieces and cleaning out the room.

Here is where we are now.

Though we don't have water in the new exhibit yet we have to start collecting animals many months before we open. There are various reasons for this. First, we have to be prepared for animals when they are available, not at our leisure. The smooth hound sharks, for example, were donated from the Indianapolis Zoo and other fish we received in trade for the animals that we had in the Master of Disguise exhibit.

Smooth hound shark

Cownose ray acclimating to his temporary home.

Cownose having a swim around his new home.

Having these animals early gives us the opportunity work with them as well. Currently we are training our sharks and rays to be target fed by hand. Target feeding means we actually "target" each animal to ensure that each one receives food. This is especially important for the sharks and rays because we want to make sure that they get a specialized vitamin that is essential for a good diet. The other training that we are working on is letting the fish know when it is time for them to eat. We have different shapes and designs that we place in the water to let the rays or sharks know when it is time to eat.

Barb with stingray "target".

Smooth hound shark "target".

 This is critical for the rays who have to eat three times a day, as opposed to the sharks who are fed three times a week.  These steps will  ensure that each of the sharks and rays will be fed, and give our husbandry staff an opportunity to observe the animals, once they are on exhibit.

Darin feeding sharks.

As we are busy coordinating the animal collection other gears are moving to make this exhibit come alive.
If you're a frequent guest to our aquarium, you will not only have a close encounter with the amazing animals, but your experience will be enhanced by in-depth information about habitat, natural history, or just an amazing story about the exhibits. This is achieved by eye-catching signs and graphics, video, or hands-on interactives.
Well, Shipwrecks Alive! will be no exception. In order for us to develop these pieces we must do our homework. As we speak our research team is diving into the subject, immersing themselves with information on the animals that we are displaying, and shaping the unique story that the shipwrecks have.

Director of Education Sarah Erickson and Volunteer Coordinator/Educator Mary Pensak developing shipwrecks story.

Last, but not least, is the construction. In the last couple of weeks we have finalized and ordered a 10,000 gallon saltwater aquarium. We are putting the finishing touches to the floor plan and tying up some loose ends in the exhibit hall before any construction can begin. A big part of this exhibit is going to be water. We plan to have about 15,000 gallons of saltwater in this exhibit. In order for us to manage this volume of water we need an equally large storage container to mix and store the saltwater. The tanks are 6 feet in diameter and 10 feet high and each tank holds 1500 gallons of water.
Luckily for us these tanks are not very heavy because due to their size they were a little awkward getting into the aquarium.

This is just the beginning. In the next couple of weeks we will begin construction of the exhibit, install the filtration system for the aquariums, and finalize the story.
I look forward to sharing more of this exciting adventure on the next Ship(wrecks)'s Log.

--Jay