2-Mar-2020: Eurasian Otter spotted in Chilika
Eurasian Otter, a semi-aquatic mammal native to Eurasia, has been sighted for the first time in the brackish water lagoon Chilika, bringing cheers for wildlife lovers.
The species has been found for the first time in eastern India. Presence of the species in the marshland was confirmed through camera traps and bycatch data used by The Fishing Cat Project (TFCP).
The otters were spotted during TFCP’s survey to camera trap the fishing cats in the fringe villages of Chilika covering an area of 1,070 sq km.
The Smooth-coated Otter, found in most of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia whose presence in the wetland had been previously confirmed, was also spotted during the survey. This is a significant development as very little is known about the distribution of these endangered species.
The sighting of these species calls for conservation measures of the highest standard that are provided to tigers and elephants in the country. More research and conservation efforts are required in largest contiguous marshland of the country.
Steps are needed for the conservation of fishing cats as well. TFCP, that worked with CDA, Chilika Wildlife Division, Wild Orissa and Mahavir Pakshi Suraksha Samiti, found the presence of a viable breeding population of fishing cat in the lake.
The fishing cat has specialised features such as partially webbed feet and a water-resistant fur that helps it thrive in wetlands and makes it unique among all 39 extant cat species. The presence of this cat adds special conservation value to Chilika that has been declared a Ramsar Site.
6-Oct-2018: Western Ghats is home to the Eurasian otter
It has taken more than 70 years to confirm the presence of the elusive Eurasian otter — one of the least-known of India’s three Otter species — in the Western Ghats. Researchers found the dead otter after a vehicle ran over it near a fragmented rainforest in Tamil Nadu’s Valparai.
Researchers at Valparai’s Nature Conservation Foundation came across the otter roadkill two years ago. Based on the dead animal’s photographs (especially of its nose and tail), several small carnivore experts concluded it was neither the small-clawed nor the smooth-coated otter (the commonly sighted otter species in south India).
Later, scientists affiliated with the Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species at Hyderabad’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology conducted genetic analyses of its tail tissue to confirm that it was indeed the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra).
The team reported the finding in a bulletin of the IUCN Otter Specialist Group earlier this year.
Though the Eurasian otter has been recorded historically from the Western Ghats (Coorg in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiri and Palani hill ranges, according to zoologist R.I. Pocock in 1941), this is the first photographic and genetic confirmation of its presence here. While the species is widespread across Europe, northern Africa and several south Asian countries, it is not as frequently sighted as smooth-coated or small-clawed otters in India.
Otter road kills — caused by increasing fragmentation of forests and modification of their original habitats — are becoming increasingly common now.
Though protected by the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), otters are often illegally poached for pelts.