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IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin Volume 19 Issue 2 Pages 62 - 110 (October 2002) IUCN/SCC OSG Group From the Chairman's Desk Another year has come to an end. As already mentioned in my report in the last issue of our bulletin, 2002 has to be summarised as a year of some remarkable progress in the work of the OSG. Most exciting for me is the fact that, finally, we have finally realised a task agreed at the Trebon Otter Colloquium in 1998. Through the address www.otterspecialistgroup.org you will now find the website of the OSG on the internet. Thanks to the assistance and support of the German Association for Otter Conservation (Aktion Fischotterschutz) it has been possible to develop this website, which, it is hoped, will become a major source of information not only on the activities of this Specialist Group but also on otter conservation world-wide. So far, the site mainly contains basic information on the IUCN, SSC and the Otter Specialist Group, especially on the continental network of the latter and the addresses of the group members. New publications on otters are introduced, and the recently published leaflets on African otters can be downloaded. Many links to other otter websites provide much more information on otters and their conservation. Some additional chapters will be added soon, for example an otter literature databank and identification sheets for all 13 species of otters. The website also contains an 'Otter Project Databank', providing the opportunity to add and to find basic descriptions on projects related to otter conservation and research. This databank could become an important resource for information on what is going on in otter conservation and research or for establishing contacts between people or institutions working on similar topics. I therefore ask all people involved in otter projects (not only the members of the OSG) to provide information on their projects via this databank. I am quite sure that it will soon become an important platform for cooperation. Again, I received some very exciting reports from the Continental
Coordinators, describing efforts and progress over the previous months.
Jan Nel has posted the printed version of the leaflets on African otters
to more than 20 African countries. Both of us have already received the
first responses, offering data on otter observations throughout Africa.
The data will be stored on the ISOS (Information System for Otter
Surveys) of Aktion Fischotterschutz and will be provided for scientific
or conservation purposes as soon as the GIS and databank system will be
able to handle these African data satisfactorily. Everybody who has
contacts to Africa can assist by distributing the information on the
availability of the leaflets and by asking people to provide
observations of otters. You can send any addresses to Jan Nel, who will
mail the printed version, or you can download the leaflets as a PDF file
from www.otterspecialistgroup.org
(-> News, Events, Publications -> Publications - From Asia, Padma de Silva reported that otter surveys are being undertaken in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia with small grants provided from the Columbus Zoo for the year 2002. The survey of the Hairy-nosed Otter is being continued quite successfully in Vietnam by Dr. Dang and Dr. Anh with funds from IOSF (UK) and the Columbus Zoo. However, in Thailand, the scenario is not so good as Budsabong Kanchanasaka was transferred to the headquarters of the Wildlife Department in Bangkok. Also, the latest male otter (3rd one to be trapped) she trapped sometime in July died. As a result, she decided to stop trapping, but will continue her survey activities in the Narathiwat area. IOSF has given another grant for an otter survey in Nepal, with Dr. Tej Thapa as the recipient. He has collected data on the distribution of otters in the Karnali River. Padma herself is writing up some teaching materials for children in the age group 5-10 yrs. The otter is introduced to the children among other wetland animals in a colouring book, jigsaw puzzles, and in a storybook featuring an otter family. These will be distributed among handicapped children as a donation. For this work, Padma got a small grant from the Columbus Zoo. The European members of the OSG are looking forward to meet at the 4th European Congress of Mammalogy (ECM); to be held on July 27 - August 1, 2003, in Brno in the Czech Republic. As agreed at the last meeting of the European section at ECM3 in Finland, this most important European conference on mammology should always form the background for meetings of the European OSG members, when possible. Some steps forward can also be reported from the project 'Otter Habitat Network Europe (OHNE)', a cooperation project of Aktion Fischotterschutz and the European section of the OSG. At a regional conference for northern Germany and Denmark in September the results of the landscape assessment for otter habitat corridors in this region were introduced. Both our German and our Danish colleagues were very excited about the results. Not least as the recovery of the otter in this region seems to be occurring mainly in just those areas identified as suitable and less problematic in the project. At the moment, the assessment is also being undertaken for Austria and the Czech Republic, aiming at the identification of corridors between the otter populations in these two countries and in Germany. Referring to the Dutch otter release project, the Dutch ministry of agriculture recently decided to stop the trapping activities in Belarus and Latvia. The reason for this was that, of 12 otters that have been trapped, four died before they could be brought to the Netherlands. For this reason, the European section of the OSG once again will offer the Dutch ministry of agriculture the advice of foreign otter specialists. Dutch and German conservationists are still trying to influence this program via the European Commission. From North America, Tom Serfass reports that efforts have increased for the preparation of the IX International Otter Colloquium (IOC), which will be held on 4-10 June 2004 at the Frostburg State University, Maryland/USA. A website is under preparation which will be released soon and which will offer more detailed information. Following 1985, this will be the second time that we will have had an IOC in the United States. I am sure that it will contribute to the improvement of otter conservation activities both in North America and abroad. I have received so much information on the Sea Otter from Angela Doroff, assisted by Andy Johnson, that I have had to cut it down to some main aspects. You can find more information on the very instructive sea otter websites, e.g. that of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized the draft stock assessments for the northern sea otter, the stock structure designation changing from a single stock to three stocks. The sea otter population in the southwestern stock has undergone significant declines in the past 10-15 years and, as a result, the FWS has developed a proposed rule to list the stock under the Endangered Species Act. It is anticipated that the draft of this proposal will be available for public comment in January 2003, if all goes well. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also hosted a workshop last April to discuss research and management information needs for the southwestern population in Alaska (workshop reports and stock assessment reports are available on request to the FWS). The sea otter population in Prince William Sound, Alaska, is still considered a recovering species from the affects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. Current studies are monitoring health and survival. A cooperative study was developed to assess sea otter abundance and winter mortality in the Commander Islands, Russia, for 2002-2003. Sea otter surveys were conducted in the Commander Islands in 2002; however, results are not available as yet. The Commander Islands have not experienced the dramatic population declines that have been observed in the Aleutian Islands. The population of the southern sea otter is threatened under the Endangered Species Act. A draft Environmental Impact Statement evaluating the sea otter translocation to San Nicholas Island is anticipated to be available in early 2003. Annual population surveys are conducted to monitor trend and abundance. Large-scale telemetry projects are ongoing throughout the range to assess survival, reproduction, and food habits. There is a fairly remarkable alliance of state, federal, academic and NGO partners working on southern sea otter conservation. This is also true if we summarise the worldwide work of OSG in 2002.
I would like to thank all members and all our partners for their efforts
and their cooperation. I would be glad if this 'otter network' could be
further improved to ensure a similar successful year 2003. |
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