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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Recurso digital |
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Zenodo
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17282062 |
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Table of Contents:
- <p>Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus) are intelligent and active animals with developed social behaviours. One of the methods used to improve the welfare of individuals kept in captivity is the use of environmental enrichment. In this study, the reactions of otters from the Municipal Zoological Garden in Łódź to selected enrichments were analysed. Data was collected through direct observation of animals. The otters’ reaction to environmental enrichments residing in enclosure and as well as new manipulable and olfactory enrichments introduced during studies were analysed. Statistical analysis was performed in the SPSS IBM Statistic programme<br>using the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test. The observations showed that exploratory and playing behaviours accounts for more than 25% of the otters’ activity time. Otters respond positively to newly introduced enrichments. The animals were preferred manipulable enrichment and interacted more frequently with organic items with rough texture. Insufficient number of environmental enrichments can result in interactions with other items, such as ropes and cable ties used for arrangement attachment, which can pose a threat to the animals. It should be pointed out, that each enrichment should be provided in appropriate amount, determined by number of otters in enclosure, to ensure access to enrichments to all specimens and reduce competition over limited resources.</p>