Asami is the type of girl to let you know what she wants. If she’s craving fish, her needs will be heard. The issue is, she can’t talk – at least not the same way we do.
Asami is a four-year-old Asian small-clawed otter. She is one of the seven members of an otter family at the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo learning to communicate using buttons.
This system of buttons, called FluentPet technology, plays pre-recorded words when pressed. Julie Smith, an associate professor of zoo animal technology at Santa Fe College, helped introduce the technology to the zoo in October 2023.
Smith had trained her cats, Loki and Trouble, at home with FluentPet before bringing this technology to the zoo. Her cats were able to communicate when they were hungry, frustrated or wanted a treat, among dozens of other concepts.
“There's been some anecdotal evidence with dogs and cats showing that they'll use the buttons more with new people, like a pet sitter or something, because they don't have an established way to communicate,” Smith said.
In November 2023, Loki repeatedly pressed the “ear” button over the course of two days. Smith said she initially thought it meant Loki wanted ear scratches, but when she continued to press the button, Smith knew something was wrong. The next day, Loki was diagnosed with an ear infection by a veterinarian.
The successful communication shown by her cats led Smith to try this technology at the zoo. For the otters, the FluentPet system was tailored to fit their lifestyle and build.
The buttons are arranged on a wooden plank hung inside their enclosures at otter eye-level and include a variety of words. “Silverside,” “caplin,” “ice,” “want,” and “yes” are a few of the buttons used frequently by the otters.
“Usually we focus first on food words and then at least one non-food word,” Smith said.
Communication levels vary within the otter family. Chitra, the mom of the family, has mastered 11 or 12 terms with the buttons, Smith said, whereas the babies of the family – Buddy, Nutmeg and Noel – have three. They began button training only a few months ago.
Teaching the otters how to associate the buttons with the concepts they represent is similar to teaching children to speak, Smith said. The trainers begin by repeatedly identifying an object verbally to the otters. When it seems they are starting to react to the word, the buttons are introduced. The trainers then press the button and present the item. Eventually, the otters are able to associate the button with the item, allowing them to press the buttons and communicate themselves.
“For something like yes or no, we'll set up situations where we have food items or enrichment items that we know they're going to say yes to,” Smith said. “Like, ‘Want ice? Yes. Yes, ice.’ We give them ice. If they act like they don't want it or don't reach out to take it, then we'll say, ‘No, Chitra no want ice.’”
Each otter’s unique personality shines through in their button training sessions. Chitra’s trainer, Emma Birrittella, described how Chitra ends her training sessions by asking for ice with the buttons. Chitra gathers all the ice in her front claws and scoots backwards to the pond in the enclosure and enjoys her ice in the water.
“She has quite the big booty,” Birrittella said. “She's got a skinny little waist and a big old booty. And she uses that for her own good.”
Buddy, named after the lovable character from the movie “Elf,” is a “bit of an airhead” according to his trainer, D.C. Kowalewski. When he is not given a direct order, Buddy defaults to opening his mouth at his trainer.
Duncan, the dad, is described as sassy and protective by his trainer, Taylor Sparks: “When we had to catch them up to bring them in here, he was stanced up in front of all the girls.”
Kairi loves to be scratched and to hold hands with her trainer, Marianna Zechman.
Nutmeg is a hard worker who loves to train. “He's like, ‘Let's go. What are you waiting for? Come on,’” said Courtney Luckow, Nutmeg’s trainer.
Asami is territorial over her buttons and her trainer, Abigail Shelton. When Abigail works with the pigs in the enclosure next to the otters’, Asami yells at her through the fence.
Noelle has a passion for training and easily blocks out distractions, according to her trainer, Karina Allen.
While the otters have mastered many words that apply to their everyday lives at the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo, they are currently working on ones that will help them in their new home at the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee.
The otter family is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan. Recommendations are made in order to best preserve the species’ population, taking into account breeding compatibility and other factors. Chitra, Duncan and the kids will move to Memphis on March 5 to support this effort.
In preparation for the move, the otters are learning the concepts of "move,” “new,” “otter” and “keeper.” Smith said this is the first time an animal using FluentPet technology is moving facilities.
“They're not going to understand the whole concept of what's happening,” Smith said, “but [the buttons] will help them express themselves and ease the transition.”
The zoo will be hosting a farewell event for the otter family on March 1 and 2 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. This is the last time the otters will be demonstrating to the public the result of all of their hard work in training.