IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin
© IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group

Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 1 - 74 (April 2008)

Abstracts

A Comparison of Two Different Methods for Estimating the Diet of the Neotropical Otter, Lontra longicaudis, with the Proposal of a New Index for Dietary Studies
Pages 6 - 12 (Article)
Vania Carolina Fonseca da Silva, Marcelo Lopes Rheingantz and Fernando Antonio dos Santos Fernandez
Some species of otters have been much more studied than others. A particular challenge in the management and conservation of otters worldwide is that some of the lesser-known species are also among those being the object of conservation concerns. In this paper, I argue about the importance of producing more scientific knowledge about lesser-known otter species and discuss the importance of integrating more species- and region-specific knowledge in survey practices. By comparing literature, I present examples showing how species-wise differences in behaviour and ecology can affect sign-based survey outcomes.
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Range Extension And A Case For A Persistent Population Of River Otters (Lontra canadensis) In New Mexico
Pages 13 - 22 (Article)
Paul Polechla and Sam Walker
Prior to 2004, some biologists claimed river otters (Lontra canadensis) were extirpated in New Mexico, USA. In November 2004, the first physical evidence of the river otter in New Mexico in over 50 years was found between Grassy and Albino Canyons on the Los Pinos branch of Navajo Reservoir in San Juan County. With the observation of river otters and their scats, tracks, and nesting site or den (nestled in a rocky escarpment and overtaken from beavers) in La Jara Canyon in the summer of 2007, the known range of this species in New Mexico is extended to a second county (Rio Arriba) and a second river (San Juan) in the state. We also provide evidence for a persistent population of the species occurring in multiple localities and dates in the early 21st century. With previous sightings occurring prior to translocations with other river otter subspecies, we raise the question if the recent river otter observations belong to those of the exotic translocated subspecies, the native L. c. sonora, or a hybrid between the two. Other commensal wetland and animals and plants living on or among rocks are listed. Management recommendations are provided to protect this population from non-target otter trapping focused on beaver removal.
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Agonistic Interactions Between River Otters And Beavers: An Observation And Review
Pages 23 - 27 (Report)
Daniel Gallant and Andrew Sheldon
We describe a rare observation of reciprocal aggression between two river otters (Lontra canadensis) and a beaver (Castor canadensis). Our observations and other literature accounts suggest that the relationship between these species may not be the commensal onesuggested by some researchers. Because information on otter-beaver interactions in the literature is scarce and contradictory, we appeal for more information about behavioral interactions between the two species. Future research should aim to determine the frequency of these agonistic events and their overall cost to beaver survival and reproductive success, to determine if this relationship is really a commensal one or some integration of strong positive and negative effects.
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Otters (Lutra lutra) in Swedish Prehistory – with Notes on Behaviour
Pages 28 - 31 (Report)
Hans Kruuk
Three thousand year old engravings (petroglyphs) probably of otters Lutra lutra were found in a Bronze Age burial site in Kivik, southern Sweden. The postures of the animals in the very prominent, stylised images, sitting upright, suggests that they represent captive otters, which had an important place in Scandinavian bronze age society.
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Abundance of the Eurasian Otter Lutra Lutra (Linnaeus, 1758) in Two Areas from Central Spain (Province of Salamanca, River Tormes)
Pages 32 - 37 (Report)
Pablo García Díaz
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is a widely distributed species in central Spain. Studies about its occurrence and diet are abundant, but data about population size are scarce. The density of the species was estimated during consecutive winters in two contrasted areas from central Spain by means of track censuses. The KAI index (Kilometrical Abundance Index) varied between 0.14 otters/km in the vicinity of the city of Salamanca and 0.25 otters/km in a conserved area. These results fit well with moderate productivity rivers and are similar to those obtained in other localities from the Mediterranean basin.
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A Working Review of the Hairy-Nosed Otter (Lutra sumatrana)
Pages 38 - 59 (Article)
Lesley Wright, Annette Olsson and Budsabong Kanchanasaka
The hairy-nosed otter (Lutra sumatrana) is one of the rarest and least-known of the 13 otter species. A review of current knowledge about this species, its historical and current known range and the threats facing it, derived from both the published literature and current ongoing investigations is presented. The future for this species is poor, with large-scale habitat degradation and hunting for the illegal skin trade assaulting the tiny and fragmented populations at utterly unsustainable levels. Immediate and urgent actions to save this species from extinction in the very near future are recommended.
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A Specimen of Hairy-Nosed Otter Lutra sumatrana from Far Northern Myanmar
Pages 60 - 67 (Report)
JW Duckworth and DM Hills
A skin of a Hairy-nosed Otter Lutra sumatrana collected in northern Myanmar (at 26°43′N, 97°58′E; altitude c.900 m) on 6 April 1939 and held in the Natural History Museum, London, has remained unpublished. The species’s ecology and distribution remain poorly known: this is the first record for Myanmar, was collected c.1800 km from the generally accepted range, and is from hill evergreen forest, a very different habitat from the species’s current known localities. There is no plausible alternative explanation for the skin at this location other than the species inhabiting the area. Validating the species’s presence there may now be impossible, because of massive recent trade-driven declines of all otters there, as are occurring widely in mainland South-east Asia.
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