Otter Education in North American Zoos and Aquariums

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Otter Education in North American Zoos and Aquariums

Jan Reed-Smith

John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids, Michigan

U.S.A.

“For zoos and aquariums looking to change people’s attitudes and behaviors about the environment, the challenge and the opportunity is to offer learning experiences through exhibits, visitor programs, classes and field programs that are engaging and fun for all ages.” (1)

In North America many people view otters as charismatic mammals. The phrase, “I love otters”, is frequently heard from zoo visitors. At the same time, the two species of otter found in North America, sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and river otters (Lontra canadensis), are frequently confused and misunderstood by a segment of the North American population. For these reasons educational efforts to clarify the otter’s role in their respective habitats is vital to the continued survival of these species in the next century.

The programs highlighted here come from member institutions of the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). This organization was founded in 1924 and has grown to incorporate a membership of 184 accredited institutions. Over 121 million people visit these facilities annually; in the U.S. a number that represents more people than attend football, basketball, and baseball games combined yearly. These facilities devote approximately $52 million annually to their education efforts reaching over 12 million people. (2)

Of these 184 accredited facilities, over 120 of them exhibit one or more species of otter. Obviously, these facilities are a tremendous potential resource for otter and water ecosystems education.

“The potential for education…through zoos is quite staggering: conservative estimates suggest that the world zoo community…is visited by ten percent of the world’s population annually. Zoos also have egalitarian appeal, attracting a wide cross-selection of society, and therefore their potential educational influence is immense. However, this potential has yet to be realized; zoos are to a large extent the “sleeping giants of the wildlife education and conservation field.” (Anonymous)

In recognition of the impact zoos and aquariums can have on conservation education it is worthwhile reviewing what otter education programs are in place at AZA member facilities. What process was involved in developing these programs, what groups are targeted by these programs, and, are these programs transferable to other facilities or situations are all questions that will be looked at. Finally, some suggestions for future projects that could be carried out by the AZA Small Carnivore Taxonomic Advisory Group (SCTAG), the AZA group that covers otters, will be made.

Successful education programs all seem to follow a similar process: 1) Identification of the subject and goal of the educational effort, 2) Identification of the audience, or target group, for the educational message, 3) Identification of possible partners for funding and/or creation of the education program, 4) Creation of the education materials, 5) Use of the educational materials, and, 6) Evaluation of the program’s success.

Identifying the subject and goal of otter education is simple. We want to inform the public, sometimes a reluctant public, about otters, their habitat and the ecosystems they are part of.

It is relatively easy to identify different target groups for the otter educational message, some of them include: special interest groups like fishermen, trappers, or conservation organizations; school groups; general zoo visitors; specific cultural groups; rehabilitation centers; zoo staff; local government agencies; politicians, etc.

Once the target group for the education program has been selected possible resources for accomplishing the education task must be identified. It should be remembered that potential resources include a wide variety of people and things; people with an expertise in the subject matter, people to help create or locate material, teachers, funding or material sources, and previously created programs that could be adapted to accomplish the desired goal. Some of the resources tapped by zoo educators for otter programs include local businesses, children’s scout groups, published children’s books, local enthusiasm for particular holiday’s or celebrations, and state government entities. Funding for these programs can be just as problematic in North America as it is in other parts of the world. This is where creativity and strong partnerships can come into play. The creation of win-win situations and a little creative resourcefulness can go a long way towards solving funding problems.

Sample North American otter education programs.

In North America, “For many children visiting with school groups or parents, their first and most potent experience with the sciences is their first trip to a zoo or aquarium. Zoos and aquariums have a role and a stake in public science education, offering education programs on and off-site to help fill the science education gap” (3)

Zoos and Aquariums have identified children as one of their most important target groups. For this reason, we will primarily look at educational activities directed towards young people.

General education.

Although the quality of otter exhibits in North American zoological facilities is varied and, for the most part, a great deal of improvement is required, progress has been made. A number of facilities have created naturalistic habitats for their otters. This new exhibit style is important because the quality of an exhibit, and what it portrays about an animal’s habitat, is the first line of a zoo’s educational effort. Another contributor to a zoo’s educational efforts are exhibit graphics and interactive games located at or near otter exhibits. Unfortunately, this is another area that needs improvement in most North American facilities. A good example of how exhibtrym, graphics, and hands-on-activities can be handled is the Aktion Fischotterschutz in Hankensbuttel, Germany.

St. Louis Zoo “Ottertoberfest”.

The St. Louis Zoo has three river otter exhibits, one of which offers a unique approach. This exhibit, located in the children’s section of the zoo affords kids the opportunity to get a sense of what it is like to be an otter flashing through the water. They positioned an acrylic tube slide so it runs through one of the otters’ pools. This tube has proven to be very popular and although the experience itself lasts only a few seconds, the memory and excitement it generates last much longer.

Because this exhibit is so popular, the zoo has been able to expand their traditional education offerings of keeper talks and advertised feeding times to include a program like Ottertoberfest. It is simple, basically consisting of a few games for children but the festival theme gets the parents to the zoo. Not all educational efforts must be formal and as long as zoo staff is available to answer questions and interject a conservation message whenever possible, fun education should be considered as a good thing too. One of the more popular games involves the kids wearing raincoats, flippers, facemask and a snorkel. In short via the use of graphics and educational play they teach the zoo’s visitors about the importance of play to learning for both animal and man.

Educational Animal shows are controversial, if done well, and the animals are presented with respect, they can be very effective educational tools. There are a few North American facilities that do this well with otters. Using operant conditioning the animals are taken through natural behaviors like sliding, grooming, and telescoping. These activities introduce the audience to otter behavior while the trainer explains what the animal is doing, why, and how the otter fits into its ecosystem.

An increasingly popular variation on the show theme is the use of keeper talks and scheduled animal feedings. Facilities using this educational approach capitalize on the interaction between keeper and animal to explain otter behavior and answer visitor questions in a casual setting.

Education programs for three to eight year olds.

There are numerous facilities that focus on this age group. The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington and the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas are good examples.

Otterly Wonderful from Sedgwick County is a program designed for three to five year olds attending the zoo in school groups. The group size is limited to 25 including an adult chaperone. The program generally follows the same format, starting with introduction activities such as an otter-coloring page, otter maze activity, or the construction of an otter puzzle. Next the kids make an otter craft, which consists of gluing a magnet to the back of a small cutout otter and fixing a second magnet to the tip of a small wooden dowel. The otter can then be manipulated around the habitat page the kids finished coloring earlier and learn something about how an otter moves and where it lives in the process.

At about this point the kids are becoming restless so they are taken for a visit to the zoo’s otter exhibit. Following the visit to the zoo’s otters the children are taken back to the classroom for a story about otters and final questions.

This program is short, adaptable to a variety of situations and very nicely suited to introducing very young children to otters.

River Otter Ramblings classes at Woodland Park Zoo run about two hours and are for children ages four to five or six to eight. The program varies depending on the age group but generally follows this format. 1) Introduction and an otter coloring activity. 2) Circle time activity. This involves the true teaching component. The children are introduced to the two species of otters found in North America through the use of artifacts such as skulls, pelts, and rubber toys representing prey items. Concepts such as aquatic adaptations, lifestyle, threats to survival and conservation are also discussed. The key to making learning fun is making it participatory so the kids are encouraged to try different things. These activities include twisting around in their shirts to illustrate grooming and loose skin, curling forward and backwards on the rug to show flexibility, and darting between sounds to show what it is like to dodge cars or escape from frightening things. 3) Tour Northern Trails exhibit area where the children can see the otters, another Mustelid the Fisher, and wolves, bears and eagles all potential predators of otters. 4) Return to the classroom for a snack, otter craft project, otter stories and final questions.

Ottessa Otter, an auditorium program for children up to eight or nine years old features a furry, larger-than-life river otter. Ottessa is actually a staff member dressed in an otter costume whose purpose is to educate and entertain young and old visitors alike. The Ottessa program shows students how otters have adapted to their semi-aquatic life and what they can do to help keep Ottessa’s habitat clean by keeping trash and other pollutants out of the water.

In addition to this 45-minute program at the aquarium, an information sheet is passed out to group a leader that lists topics for further discussion, classroom/home activities, and avenues for students to become more involved in local conservation efforts. Examples of these activities include:

1) “Pollution found in our waterways can be very dangerous to animals that depend on water, including otters, birds, fish and reptiles. How many types of water pollution can you think of? What makes each type dangerous to animals?

2) Create a collage of animals and plants that are found around a river. Find out which animals are predators and which are prey. Can you make a simple food chain using these animals?

3) Project Wild activities. In ‘Wildlife is Everywhere’ students learn that humans and wildlife share environments and that wildlife is present in areas all over the earth. In ‘Too Close for Comfort’ students will learn how crowded conditions can negatively affect people and wildlife and how to reduce the consequences.”(4)

Education programs for nine to thirteen year olds.

The Brookfield Zoo outside of Chicago, Illinois offers a wonderful education program called Connections geared toward students in the 4^th through 6^th grades. The Wonders of our Wetlands unit focuses on these objectives, 1) Learn to define wetlands, 2) Learn to recognize the biodiversity of wetlands, 3) Learn to identify the benefits of healthy wetlands, 4) Understand why the river otter is a good indicator of a healthy wetland.

The program is extensive, incorporating pre- and post-visit activities to prepare for, and supplement, the on-site experience. Some of the items included in the material sent out to teachers are guides for adults that will be accompanying the children, a variety of activity masters for pre- and post-visit use (e.g. otter obstacle course game), masters for Field Notebooks so each student can make notes while visiting the zoo, wetland habitat posters to be colored, and a slide show for pre-visit viewing. This program is available at a cost of about $30.00 through the Brookfield Zoo Education office.

Education programs for 14 to 18 year olds.

In the zoo and aquarium world it is generally felt to be more difficult to engage this age group in a learning experience. School groups of this age visit zoological facilities less frequently than younger groups so we do not see as many programs devoted to them. However, there are programs, they simply take a slightly different form.

The Brookfield Zoo offers Secret of the Swamp a self-guided tour and activity guide for teachers of grades 4 through 12 visiting the zoos Swamp building.

John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids, Michigan has under development a wetlands puppet show project that will focus on the N. A. river otter, its animal neighbors, and their habitat. The zoo currently has a teen volunteer program for kids 14 to 18 years old. The concept is to work with the teens to develop the puppet show then have them take it over. The first part of each summer will be spent learning about otters and other wetland species and practicing the puppet show. The second half of the summer season the teens will perform the puppet show once a day for the visiting public. This will allow us to reach the 25 to 30 teens (teams of five to six, five days a week) with a concentrated wetlands conservation message and introduce otters and wetlands to many of our summer visitors.

Education programs for adults.

First, every education program offered by zoos and aquariums for children also reaches adults in some fashion. It may be via hearing about it from their children or from participating in a more active fashion as a school group leader or chaperone. Which ever it is, as education is communication, this communication from child to parent should not be forgotten.

More formal education efforts for adults generally take the form of lectures, keeper talks at otter exhibits, or, participation in animal behavior classes. One of the most effective forms of education zoological facilities have is the interaction of staff with their visiting public. For this reason it is important to not forget staff education.

Zoo staff education

It is in the area of zoo staff education that the partnership between field biologists and captive biologists is most important. If “Zoo people” don’t know what field researchers, are discovering, they have no hope of adequately educating their visiting public. There are several good ways, both formal and informal, to promote staff education.

Suggestions for future SCTAG activities.

1 Send out a survey to member institutions to identify facilities that have Mustelid education programs in place.

2 Establish a central database and library of education materials.

3 Formulate education guidelines for use by facilities with limited education budgets.

4 Establish liaisons with governmental agencies that may have education materials that could be used by AZA facilities.

References

(1) AZA American Association of Zoos and Aquariums. 1999, 2020 Trend Report, published by: AZA, 8403 Colesville Rd., Suite 710, Silver Spring, MD 20910-331, pp 27

(2) AZA, The Collective Impact of America’s Zoos and Aquariums, January 1999, published by: AZA, 8403 Colesville Rd., Suite 710, Silver Spring, MD 20910-331

(3) AZA, 1999 2020 Trend Report, published by: AZA, 8403 Colesville Rd., Suite 710, Silver Spring, MD 20910-331, pp 39.

(4) Tennessee Aquarium, undated, Ottessa Otter Additional Adventures, Tennessee Aquarium, P.O. Box 11048, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401-2048 U.S.A. phone: 01-800-262-0695 or 01-423-785-4032, fax: 01-423-267-3561, sjs@tennis.org.

Resources

Asian Small-clawed otter Species Survival Plan Coordinator, Dusty Lombardi, General Curator, Columbus Zoo, P.O. Box 400, Powell, Ohio U.S.A. phone: 01-614-645-3400, fax: 01-614-645-3465, dlombard@colszoo.org.

AZA Small Carnivore Taxonomic Advisory Group (SCTAG) Education Liaison – Jennifer Taylor, Curator of Education, Santa Barbara Zoo, 500 Ninos Dr., Santa Barbara, California 93103 U.S.A. phone: 01-805-962-5339, fax: 01-805-962-1673, taylor@santabarbarazoo.org.

AZA SCTAG Chairwoman – Greta McMillan, Animal Collection Coordinator, Knoxville Zoo, P.O. Box 6040, Knoxville, Tennessee 37914-0040 U.S.A. phone: 01-423-637-5331, fax 01-423-637-1943, McMillan@knoxville-zoo.com.

Brookfield Zoo – Lanis Petrik, School Program Manager, 3300 S. Golf Rd., Brookfield, Illinois 60513-1099 U.S.A. phone: 01-708-485-0263, fax: 01-708-485-3532, lpetrik@BrookfieldZoo.ORG.

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden – Diane Silver, Distance Learning Coordinator, 3400 Vine St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45220 U.S.A. phone: 01-513-475-6130, fax: 01-513-559-7776, diane.silver@cincyzoo.org.

International Otter Survival Fund – Paul Yoxon

John Ball Zoo – Jan Reed-Smith, 1300 W. Fulton, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49504 U.S.A. phone: 01-616-336-4301 fax: 01-616-336-3709, jrsotter@iserv.net.

River Otter Alliance – Tracy Johnston, Secretary, Carol Peterson, Membership, 6733 South Locust Court, Englewood, Colorado 80112 U.S.A. tajwti@aol.com.

St. Louis Zoo – Education Office, Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri 63110-1395 U.S.A. phone: 01-314-781-0900 extension 756, fax: 01-314-647-7969.

Sedgwick County Zoo, Education Office, 5555 Zoo Blvd., Wichita, Kansas U.S.A. phone: 01-316-942-2212 extension 214, fax: 01-316-942-3781.

Sunset Zoo – Schanee Anderson, Curator of Education, 2333 Oak St., Manhattan, Kansas 66502-3824 U.S.A., phone: 01-785-587-2737, fax: 01-785-587-2730, ANDERSON@ci.manhattan.ks.us

Tennessee Aquarium, Sandy Skorput, Director of Education, P.O. Box 11048, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401-2048 U.S.A. phone: 01-800-262-0695 or 01-423-785-4032, fax: 01-423-267-3561, sjs@tennis.org.

Woodland Park Zoo – Johanna Dock, Classes Coordinator, 5500 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle, Washington 98103, U.S.A. phone: 01-206-684-4841, fax: 01-206-233-2663, jo.dock@zoo.org.

Web Sites/Addresses

OTTERNET.COM - A good general site for otter information. Features pictures, general basic information, a bulletin board, and links with other otter sites.

IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group List Serve – Open to professionals working with otters in the field or in captivity. Split into continental lists, general list, and an otter keeper list. To join contact: jrsotter@iserv.net.

WWW.AZA.ORG/PROGAMS/SSP - AZA Asian small-clawed otter web site.

WWW.CINCYZOO.ORG. - Web address for the Cincinnati Zoo. Access the Otter Creek pages through the Otter Creek then Family Guide icons.

New York River Otter Project History: www.nyotter.org Web site for the New York otter reintroduction project. This project has been particularly successful at generating public support and forming working partnerships.

Printed material

River Otter Journal

Shape of Enrichment – Published quarterly, $12.00 U.S. Contains articles about behavioral and environmental enrichment for animals held in captive settings. Good resource for zoo staff. 1650 Minden Dr., San Diego, California 92111-7124, e-mail: shape@enrichment.org. Web site: www.enrichment.org.

IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin – Published twice a year.

Appendix

Brookfield Zoo material: (Property of Brookfield Zoo, if used as is permission must be obtained from the zoo, see resources.)

Wonders of Our Wetlands Field Notebook Master

Wonders of Our Wetlands Name Tag Masters

Wonders of Our Wetlands Otter Obstacle Course Rules

Wonders of Our Wetlands Record Sheet for Otter Obstacle

Course game

Obstacle Course game cards (2 pages)

Cincinnati Zoo material: (This material is available online at WWW.CINCYZOO.ORG)

8 PAGES

N.A. river otter introduction page

Otter Creek Exhibit introduction page

Otter Creek Exhibit map

Crazy Creek Crossword designed to get visitors to familiarize themselves with the exhibit and residents species before they visit the zoo.

Crossword clues and Word search puzzle

Animal Adaptations – Classic Comparisons: This can be easily adapted to any two species and helps to foster observation skills.

Be a Poet – And Know It! – Children can try writing a Cinquan poem about otters. This concept can be used for any traditional poetry style.

Vertical poem – Again, easily adapted to other species or other forms typical to a given culture or language.

New York River Otter Project: (This material is available online at www.nyotter.org). 6 pages containing general information about the project.

Sedgwick County Zoo: Otterly Wonderful program. All of these may be used as is, or modified.

Sample class discussion outline

Otter habitat coloring page

Master sheet of little otters for magnet craft. The small otters are cut out after coloring. Small magnets are glued on the back of the otter and on the end of a small wooden dowel. Kids can then move the otter around its habitat.

Otter coloring page

Otter coloring page that can be cut up to make a puzzle.

Woodland Park Zoo: Otter mask and otter maze may be modified or used as is. The other materials are available in the book Sea Otter – River Otter, available online at Amazon.com, from the International Otter Survival Fund, or from the publisher. However, these concepts can be easily adapted to other species and other cultures.

Otter mask – this can be cut out and strings inserted in the sides.

Otter maze activity

Animal tracks sheet

River otter coloring sheet with natural history information

Hidden Wildlife sheet

Tiddly Frogs game packet (5 pages)

Otter Moves Directions

Otter Moves pieces