IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin
© IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group
Volume 31 Issue 2 (October 2014)
Abstracts
Status of Otters in the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India
Pages 61 - 64 (Report)
Manas P. Manjrekar and Charles Leo Prabu
Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world comprising a large network of small rivers and innumerable
islands. During February 2010 to May 2010 boat transects were carried out in the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, India to
estimate the sign encounter rates of tiger and its prey species. During these transect surveys otter signs and
sightings were also recorded. A total of 237.8 km of transect surveys were carried out in which four sightings of
smooth coated otter groups were recorded and otter signs at seven different locations (tracks at six locations and a
spraint at one location) were recorded on the mud banks of the forested islands. The mean group size of the smooth
coated otter groups was 2.75 (S.E. = 0.85, Range = 1-5) and the encounter rate of the otter signs was 0.03/km (S.E. =
0.01). As the speed of the mechanised boat was maintained at 4.5 km/hr it was not possible to identify the species of
otter based on the pugmarks on the mud banks. In the past few decades due to the decline in the fresh water flow in
the Indian Sundarbans the biodiversity in this region has been affected to a large extent. These changes may have
affected the presence and distribution of otters in this region. Till date there have been no systematic surveys for
otters in the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. This study presents preliminary information on the distribution and abundance
of otters in the region but extensive surveys are necessary to generate reliable abundance estimates and distribution
patterns for otters in this region.
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A Distribution Survey for Otters along a River in Central Bhutan
Pages 65 - 74 (Report)
Prakash Chettri and Melissa Savage
We report the findings of a survey for otters along a major river in central Bhutan. The river bears various names in
different stretches along its run, including Mochhu, Phochhu, Punatsangchhu and Sunkosh. We report: 1) the distribution and
density of otter sign, including tracks, scats, latrines and dens, 2) the correlation between sign abundance and vegetation
and substrate characteristics, and 3) the correlation of otter sign with human disturbance. Five of the six 5.5 km transects
sampled were positive for otter sign. The one transect with no otter sign was the site of a recent severe flood event. Linear
sign density was 9.4 sign km-1 along one bank of the river, with a mean of 45% of two sample rounds positive for
presence of otter sign in sample plots. The Kamichhu site possessed the highest percentage of positive plots at 95%, and the
Sunkosh site the lowest at 35%. The number of otter sign was positively correlated with bankside vegetation and with sandy
beaches with large boulders. Human disturbance also influenced the density of otter sign, with proximity of settlements,
represented by the presence of footpaths, grazing and trash, apparently deterring otter presence. Three species of otters
likely occupy the rivers of Bhutan (Lutrogale perspillata, Lutra lutra, and Aonyx cinereus),
but since altitudinal niche partitioning by these species is not understood in the study area, we make no attempt to predict
distribution by species. Only one otter species, a smooth-coated otter (L. perspicillata) was directly sighted.
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Photographic Record of Smooth-Coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata Geoffroy 1826) in Nyamjang Chu Valley, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Pages 75 - 79 (Report)
Kamal Medhi, Rajarshi Chakraborty and Jaya Upadhyay
A pair of Smooth-coated otters was sighted in remote temperate parts of the Nyamjang Chu valley (Chu = River) in westernmost part of Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh on 1st April 2014. The otters were photographed basking on a riverside rock and identified based on their morphological features. There were no previously published records of Smooth-coated Otters; normally a species found more in plains, from western Arunachal Pradesh and the state as a whole has very scanty information regarding presence and distribution of otters. The sighting signifies the rich biodiversity of Nyamjang Chu, in Pangchen valley and implies initiation of strong conservation measures to safeguard the future of the otters.
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Otter Hunting and Trapping, a Traditional Practice of Marsh Arabs of Iraq
Pages 80 - 88 (Report)
Omar F. Al-Sheikhly, Mukhtar K. Haba and Filippo Barbanera
Two species of otter inhabit the marshes of southern Iraq: the European otter (Lutra lutra) and the smooth-coated otter (endemic subspecies: Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli). Marsh Arabs have targeted otters since at least the 1950s. Nowadays, local marsh inhabitants are still heavily hunting otters for their fur or trapping their cubs to be raised as pets. These practices, together with habitat destruction (i.e., marshland drainage), represent primary threats to the otters’ survival in Iraq, and have caused a dramatic decline in otter populations. We report on traditional hunting and trapping methods in Iraq on European and smooth-coated otter, and on the consequences on the conservation of these endangered species.
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