Volume 2 Pages 1 - 58 (March 1987)

Citation: Smet. K. de. (1987) No Otters in the Tassili Mountains (Sahara)  IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 2: 26

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No Otters in the Tassili Mountains (Sahara)

Koen de Smet

Dept. de Foresterie et de Protection de la Nature, Institut National Agronomique, El Harrach, Algeria.

The Tassill Mountains are situated in the centre of the Sahara Desert and as they are rather high (summits over 2,000 m), they have a rainfall of more than 50 mm/year. There are many rivers in these mountains and although they only flow after the occasional rains, a great number of small lakes (locally called Guelta) remain in the deep canyons. Some river systems always have running water (Oued Imirhou, Oued Iherir) and most of them contain large quantities of fish (Barbus sp., Tilapia sp.) as well as frogs and snakes.

In these mountains (and in the Hoggar nearby) many Mediterranean species remained after the Sahara dried up and a lot of endemics closely related to Mediterranean species are found. Therefore I was convinced that Lutra lutra (formerly widespread in the whole of North Africa, even south of the Sahara Atlas), could have survived in this area.

However, intensive searches for otter spraints and tracks during 3 two-week trips (1984, '85 and '86) in this area proved negative and the species was not familiar to local people. The rivers searched were the Oued Djerat, Oued Tadjeradjeri, Oued Ouvet and Oued Iherir.

Next year I will survey the Hoggar river systems for otters but, after finding negative results in the Tassill, I doubt whether they will be found to occur there.

Koen reports (in litt.) that he has found abundant signs of otters in El Kala close to the border with Tunisia. Ed.

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