IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin
©IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group
OSG Group Members News
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The Otter Specialist Group contains 334 members at 13 July 2021.
New Members of OSG
Since the last issue, we have welcomed 10 new members to the OSG: you can read more about him on the Members-Only pages.
Maila Cicero, Italy: Beginning with working with otters in Cumiana Zoo, Turin, and then surveying the small otter population in Calabria, I went to Mongolia to work on a camera trapping project in Arkhangai Forest. I plan to return to look at tter spatial behaviors in Northern Mongolia, with a focus on habitat requirements and the influence of anthropogenic disturbance
Dan Forman, UK: I am currently an Associate professor at Swansea University and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Committee. As well as my teaching and management leadership roles I also have a wide range of research interest including pollination, wildlife disease, animal welfare, wetland ecology and conservation, and carnivore ecology and conservation. I am particularly interested in the functional roles of otters in the landscape, niche partitioning, disease / parasites of otters, and the coastal ecology and conservation of Lutra lutra in Britain. I am working with Carol Bennetto on producing educational and outreach materials focussed on otters.
Simone Lampa, Germany: My area of interest is in using and developing genetic methods to receive important data about the otter such as population size, density, population dynamic, distribution, genetic origin, etc. to help to protect the species and to help in the conciliation process between species protection and stakeholder interests.
Twinamasiko Luke, Uganda: I am currently coordinating an otter project in Uganda, and am the Founder and CEO of Joint Efforts for Green Mountain Initiative Uganda, a non-governmental organization with an ultimate goal of promoting peaceful coexistence of people and wildlife through environmental conservation, climate change mitigation, adaptation, action to promote ecosystem integrity and resilience.
Carol Peterson, USA: As an artist focused on endangered species, the river otter has been the ideal symbol to influence and encourage societies to conserve the integrity and biodiversity of nature. I was the founder of The River Otter Alliance non-profit organization along with John C. Mulvihill Esq. and biologists Leslie Malville, Joe Powell and scientific advisor Paul Polechla Ph.D.in 1991, served as the first president and on the ROA board for 22 years. We published the River Otter Journal for 22 years with the extraordinary assistance of many research scientists, biologists, wildlife officials, rehabilitators, and otter enthusiasts. As well as my many artistic, interpretive and educational roles, I also participate in field studies and collecting camera data where needed.
Aurobindo Samal, India: I have been passionate about animal welfare, wildlife rescue and conservation since I was a child. My whole motto is co-existence with all wildlife. At first, my focus was snake rescue, but I and my friends soon branched out to help all animals, wild and domestic. Our non-profit organisation, ECO (Earth Crusaders Organisation), is part of the Emergency Relief Network (ERN) launched by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), and also work with the Forest Department. We ran the first community-based conservation project in Odisha, and continue to engage local people on conservation; we have succeeding in mitigating or removing most of the otter-human conflict occuring, and convinced local people of the importance of smooth-coated otters.
Utthamapandian, India: I am currently working on the distribution, habitat selection, food and feeding habits, and mapping of hotspots, of Smooth coated otters in Tamil Nadu coastal ecosystems, particularly in the Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts, and developing a GIS product identifying otter hotspots for targeting conservation efforts.
Andrew Upton, USA : I am a visual storyteller and a semi-professional wildlife conservation photographer. My long term project explores Japanese people’s relationship with otters, and my current focus is on the recent “otter boom” and how otter cafes in Japan facilitate the global illegal otter trade. Professionally, I work as an assistant producer at the US office of one of Japan’s leading animation studios developing projects for TV and Film. My photography and my work in the entertainment industry have given me a unique global perspective and visual storytelling skills that I am using to further otter conservation
Brendan Wenzel, USA: I am an author and illustrator of books for children (almost always about animals), and I would be more than happy to share my existing otter images, or create new work to suit your needs. Looking through a wider lens, however, I am also very interested in exploring the space where conservation overlaps with art, design, storytelling, and education. I am passionate about connecting people with animals on a deeper level, and I have some thoughts and projects in the works I’d be keen to connect about.
Clarence Wright, USA: I am a retired Zoo and Aquarium Industry man. In the late 1970s, I contributed to the development of the OSG Management Plans for captive otters. I had two non-releasable North American Otters in my home for 21 years and have always been involved with the conservation of otters where ever they are. Currently, I am working on a second master’s degree at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater,Oklahoma, in the Department of Natural Resources Ecology and Management. My research focus is on assessing the current population of River Otters (Lontra canadensis) in eastern Oklahoma.