Volume 10 Pages 1 - 56 (October 1994)

Citation: Kranz A. (1994) Some Comments on the Otter (Lutra lutra) in Turkey . IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 10: 30 - 31

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Some Comments on the Otter (Lutra lutra) in Turkey

Andreas Kranz

Institut für Wildbiologie und Jagdwirtschaft, Peter Jordanstr. 76, A-1190 Wien, Austria

In Turkey, where otters are also under legal protection, the situation is even more critical. In July 1994, a short trip for AGA (Aktionsgemeinschaft Artenschutz e.V.) revealed an alarming freshwater habitat loss on the west coast. Otters still occurr along the Mediteranean coast, but the population appears fragmented due to the patchily distributed freshwater. Freshwater pools and streams, many of them only a few hundred meters long are being destroyed for hotels or simply filled up, presumably to get rid of this type of landscape and its mosquitos (risk of malaria). In Akyaka we found pelts of four otters in a fish restaurant. They were killed by the restaurant owner over the past few years. Their total lengths were 145 cm, 137 cm, 135 cm and 128 cm. Last winter, Heike Thol-Schmitz encounted hunters in Akyaka shooting coot (Fulica atra) in a wetland, where hunting is forbidden. According to the hunters, their target was not birds but otters (a useless pest); they obviously hoped to find more understanding for this explanation. Taking this hunting pressure into account, it is remarkable that otters still occur there. One explanation could be the good reproduction. Thol-Schmitz was able to observe litters of up to four cubs in the last three years. In Turkey, however, the residents do not appear to regard the killing of otters as a crime. Public work and a national survey have to be a priority task.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I am very grateful to N. Ziegler from AGA who made the trip to Turkey possible.

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