7 Days at Sea

As we wrap up our second week of observation, which involved observing the otters interacting with the raft we made, I feel good about the results. We won't have actual data until Wednesday, however when I observed the otters on Wednesday and Thursday last wee they really took to the raft. It was cool because at first they were extremely curious about it and would push and pull it from one side of the exhibit to the other, chewing and smelling it intently. Once they were more familiar with it though, they seemed to like to use it as a place to recline on the water.

Louie lounging on the raft.

And they would actually wrestle in a king of the hill type skirmishes over who had rights to use it.

Louie watching as Benny tries to climb aboard.

My most recent observations lead me to believe that it draws them out of the back of the exhibit and into the public eye, so it seems successful. Surprisingly enough, even the 'old men' of the group (Delmar, Digger, and Louie) took to the raft as energetically as their younger counterparts. The groups were mixed up this time around, so it may be due to the youthful spirit of the others they were in with yet they would often go check it out by themselves as well. But they are not the only ones who were curious about the new raft as many people stopped and asked me questions about what it was since I was wearing an aquarium name tag. They seemed genuinely interested and even those who did not stop and talk to us remarked how they like to watch the otters play and lounge about the raft. However, it seems that the otters still tire near the end of their shifts, so I am uncertain what amount of change was actually made to their behavior. I will have a better idea when we compare the data next time we meet, and after that I will be able to publish my results but until then I think that we have achieved our goal. I will admit that the raft may have to be repaired or rebuilt every few moths because the otters love to chew on the rope, especially when they are floating about. The way to solve this would be to use a stronger, polymer based rope, however this would be more likely to harm the otters so I think it is out of the question. Considering the reactions of the aquarium staff, I think that they will continue this practice for a little while so I am sure they will find a more than adequate solution.