IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin
©IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group
Citation: Savage, M. (2022). Otters in Northeast India: A Review of the Sparse Available Information IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 39 (2): 81 - 89
Otters in Northeast India: A Review of the Sparse Available Information
Melissa Savage
Department of Geography, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles 90095 USA. Email: e-mail: forests@ucla.edu
(Received 13th december 2021, accepted 1st January 2022)
Abstract: I review the status of our knowledge of three otter species Lutra lutra, Lutrogale perspicillata, and Aonyx cinereus (Mammalia: Carnivora: Mustelidae) reported to inhabit the Northeast region of India. I summarize the scant current documentation of otter distribution in eight Northeast states, and review human pressures on otters, which include a tradition of hunting and illegal trafficking. I searched publications that 1) record the confirmed presence of otters in states of the Northeast, and 2) report seizures of otters in the illegal wildlife trade in the states of the Northeast. I also consider the role of West Bengal, to the west of the region, in the illegal otter trade. The eight states that comprise Northeast India, are experiencing dramatic social shifts, increasing anthropogenic pressures, and decreasing regional isolation. A once highly remote and traditional region is being drawn slowly into the national and international economy, with marked consequences for wildlife. Confirmed records of otter species in the region are scarce, as are records of otter pelt seizure data.
Keywords: Eurasian Otter, Smooth-coated Otter, Small-clawed Otter, Northeast India, hunting, illegal wildlife trade
INTRODUCTION
The Northeast region of India lies on three international borders: Myanmar to the east, Bangladesh to the west, and China to the north (Fig. 1). It encompasses the junction of two biodiversity hotspots: the paleo-arctic flora of the Tibetan highlands and the evergreen monsoon flora of Southeast Asia. Its diverse topography ranges from the snowy peaks of the Himalayas down to the deep gorges, tropical valleys, and abundant rivers in the south. While the Northeast constitutes only 8 % of the area of India, it hosts 60% of India’s endangered species and the country’s highest faunal diversity (Choudhury, 2006). There are many designated protected areas, including Kaziranga, Manas, Namdapha, Ntangki, Murlen, Sirohi, Manas and Nameri National Parks (NP), and numerous wildlife and forest reserves. Yet these reserves have often experienced intense anthropogenic impacts from hunting, shifting agriculture, logging, and political turmoil.
There is very little research on otters in the region, even while an abundance of rivers and wetlands provide excellent habitat. Three species of otters have been documented, the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra Linnaeus, 1758), Small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus Illiger, 1815) and Smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1826). The Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the Smooth-coated otter and Small-clawed otter species as Vulnerable (Khoo et al., 2021; Wright et al., 2015) and the Eurasian otter as Near Threatened (Roos et al., 2021). All three species are decreasing across their range in Asia (Gomez and Shepherd, 2019).
The region, with a patchwork of 225 tribal groups, is an ethnically complex and sensitive area, with a tradition of local self-rule and historical resistance to national governance. In some states, such as Nagaland and Assam, there have been chronic separatist insurgencies. This has affected the management of wildlife, and protected reserves have sometimes been under the control of rebel groups and heavily hunted (Bhattacharya, 2017).
Hunting is deeply embedded in many tribal cultures of the Northeast. Much of the region bears a cultural affinity with Southeast Asia, where hunting is more traditional than in peninsular India (Aiyadurai et al., 2010). Guns are readily available and hunting is widespread, even within protected areas (Naniwadekar et al., 2013; Velho and Laurance, 2013). Animals, including otters, are killed for meat, medicine, retaliation, ceremonies and for the wildlife trade (Aiyadurai, 2007). Some tribes claim traditional management of the land and the right to hunt for subsistence and commerce (Velho and Laurance, 2013). Of 85 households surveyed in a village in Arunachal Pradesh, for example, 54% reported hunting for subsistence, 25% for commercial trade, and 10% for medicinal purposes (Selvan et al., 2013). Hunting for consumption is slowly being replaced by hunting for income in Northeast India, that is, by the wildlife trade (Corlett, 2007).
Two features of the illegal wildlife trade in Northeast India are notable. First is the role of a history of insurgency and armed conflict in recent decades. Militant groups have been involved in hunting and poaching of wildlife, in Manipur and Assam for example, where wildlife products are sometimes traded for sophisticated arms (Guha, 2015). Secondly, international organized crime networks play a significant role in the illegal wildlife trade in parts of Northeast India (Levy and Scott-Clark, 2007). The presence in the region of organized crime syndicates based in China, Nepal and Thailand enables financial incentives, management of shipments across international borders, forgery of permits, and provision of weaponry associated with drug trafficking (Levy and Scott-Clark, 2007).
Traditional hunting in the region now takes place against a background of intensifying pressures on wildlife and while once sustainable, is now contributing to a steep decline in wildlife populations (Aiyadurai et al., 2010; Bupathy et al., 2013). Depletion of wildlife populations in Southeast Asia has increased demand from Northeast India. Prices for wild animal products have soared, as has demand in Southeast Asia and China (Niraj et al., 2012). Declines across many mammal populations near the border with Myanmar due to illegal hunting are documented in the Ziro Valley (Selvan et al., 2013) and Namdapha NP (Datta et al., 2008a) in Arunachal Pradesh, reflecting similar patterns of hunting and wildlife decline in northern Myanmar (Rao et al., 2011). Datta et al., (2008b) suggest that hunting in the area has created an “empty forest” phenomenon.
Otters are among the species hunted in the Northeast but the level of hunting pressure on otters is poorly documented. Hunting otters for the illegal trade, in contrast to traditional uses such as food or medicine, is increasing in the region because of the high value of their pelts (Datta et al., 2008b; Aiyadurai, 2011). Datta et al. (2008b) suggest that otters are highly threatened by commercial hunting in Namdapha NP, near the Myanmar border, where hunters from Myanmar and China poach otters for sale outside the region (Chetry and Medhi, 2006). The high value of otter pelts is reflected in their frequent bundling with other high value wildlife products such as tiger skins, ivory and rhino horn. Lucrative wildlife parts can also be packaged with narcotics and arms, and sent across porous international borders (Niraj et al., 2012). Despite a complete ban on trade and hunting of wildlife added to the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act of India, the conviction rate for wildlife crimes is only 2.5% (Goswami, 2016), probably much lower in the Northeast. Many of the region’s protected areas are remote and poorly staffed, and wildlife protection is weak.
Cross-border trade routes have existed for centuries in the Northeast: to the east into Myanmar and China and to the west through the states of West Bengal and Sikkim to Nepal and China. Myanmar shares a 1,643 km border with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, a long and porous border now considered a backdoor for wildlife trafficking to China through that country (Mitral 2006). The largest city in the Northeast, Guwahati in Assam, has become a major hub for international illegal trade, handling wildlife products transshipped, often by air, from other parts of India into China via Myanmar (Megalaya Times, 2010). Trading hubs trafficking into Myanmar include Imphal and Moreh in Manipur, near the Myanmar border (Sangai Express, 2016), Dimapur in Nagaland, due to its proximity to Kaziranga NP (Megalaya Times, 2010), Aizwal in Mizoram, and Shillong in Meghalaya (Bupathy 2013). Poachers from Myanmar cross the border into Namdapha NP in Arunachal Pradesh to take otters for the China market (Datta et al., 2008b). Otter pelts from the Northeast are also reported to travel westward to smuggling gateway cities of Siliguri and Darjeeling in West Bengal (Martin, 1999), then north to Sikkim and onwards to the Tibet Autonomous Region through the ancient trade route of the Nathula Pass (Zeigler et al., 2010).
METHODS
Scholarly papers that included records of sightings or otter sign (tracks, scat, latrines) were searched in Google Scholar, and records of seizure of otter pelts were searched in online publications including regional newspapers and online reports (November 2021) using the search terms “otters”,“illegal otter trade”,”otter seizures”,“otter pelt” and “otter skin” for the Northeast states and West Bengal from 1994 to 2020. Records of otter pelt seizures were also searched for the adjacent state of West Bengal, because of its important role in trafficking wildlife north into China. Published papers and the database of the Wildlife Crime Database of the Wildlife Protection Society of India were also searched. Only reliable publications, survey data, or photographs from 1997 forward were included, given the rapidly shifting status of otters in South Asia. Species, origin and destination were not usually reported.
RESULTS
Documented otter presence
There are exceptionally few confirmed records of otter presence in the Indian Northeast. Most are from the two northern states, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
Das et al. (2007) and Sinha et al. (2020) reported Smooth-coated otters in Manas NP in Assam. Smooth-coated otters have been photographed numerous times in Kaziranga NP, Assam, (e.g., Bhattacharya, 2013). The release of a Small-clawed otter pup rescued from a flood in Kaziranga NP was recorded by The Assam Tribune (2015). Saikia and Saikia (2012) reported Eurasian otters observed by park staff in Nameri NP.
All three otter species have been documented in Arunachal Pradesh, a large, remote state bordering on China and Myanmar. Borker and Gogi (2019) conducted a rapid survey in Pakke Tiger Reserve, documenting 20 sign of Small-clawed otters and 23 sign of Eurasian Otters. The presence of Eurasian otters (Chetry and Madhi, 2006) in the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary and Small-clawed otters in the Namdapha Tiger Reserve have been documented (Datta et al., 2008b; Naniwadekar et al., 2013), and Smooth-coated otters (Medhi et al., 2014) and Eurasian Otters (Bhattacharya et al., 2019) have been photographed in Nyamjang Chu Valley.
A survey by Khatiwara et al. (2020) found a meager amount of otter sign along the Teesta and Rangeet Rivers, the major rivers in Sikkim. In 2016, officers of the Forest Environment Management and Wildlife Department in Sikkim rescued, rehabilitated, and released a female Eurasian otter found in a small hill stream in northern Sikkim (Khatiwara et al., 2020). Beyond these few records, there are only unconfirmed, informal reports of otters elsewhere in the Northeastern states, in Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Nagaland, where no systematic surveys or studies have been conducted.
Documented seizure incidents
Fifty otter pelts seized in 8 incidents were reported from the Northeast States from 1997 to 2017 (Table 1). Half of the incidents, 4, were reported in Assam, a state adjacent to West Bengal. Three seizure incidents occurred in Arunachal Pradesh and one in Meghalaya.
The numbers of otter pelts seized in the adjacent state of West Bengal are greater than in the Northeast states, reflecting its role as a major hub for wildlife trafficking through Sikkim into Nepal and China. Many of these pelts likely originate in the Northeastern states. In 9 incidents in the West Bengal a total of 248 otters were seized, most in the large towns of Darjeeling and Siliguri (Table 2).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Otter species are presumed to inhabit Northeast India, but there is little information to confirm their distribution and status there. These three otter species deserve greater research attention in the region given the quality of habitat there and the decline of otter populations across South Asia. The documented record of otter pelt seizures is also very sparse, in contrast to the numerous illegal trade seizure records for otters in the rest of India (Gomez et al., 2016). Even records from the Northeast of trafficked high-profile species such as tiger, leopard, and rhinos are relatively sparse (Goswami, 2016). Declines in numbers of otter seizure records over time may reflect the success of trafficking suppression or the prevailing weak enforcement of regional trafficking, but perhaps more likely, an increasing scarcity of otters. In any case, the vast majority of illegal wildlife trafficking likely goes undetected (Gomez et al., 2016).
The Indian Northeast is being rapidly reshaped through the development of commercial markets, road construction, communications, and hydroelectric generation projects. Cash is becoming a more necessary medium of exchange, for sending children to school or paying for medical treatment (Aiyadurai, 2011). Poaching is seen as a way to supplement income (Aiyadurai, 2007). Ever more fluid international trade patterns are changing social relationships. In some areas, otter hunting is a relatively new practice, using traps acquired in Myanmar (Aiyadurai and Velho, 2016). Hunting as an aspect of spiritual well-being of communities, including restraints such as taboos on hunting in certain seasons, appear to be eroding (Aiyadurai, 2011).
The entities in India working to reduce wildlife trafficking, including the Wildlife Control Bureau, as well as State Forest Departments, customs agents, and local police forces, need to focus more attention on the trafficking of otters in the Northeast States. Broad collaborations are useful, such as the recent formation of an interagency entity between enforcement agencies of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland to address the illegal trade.
The deep relationship of local people to their natural environment means that wildlife conservation is ultimately in the hands of the many indigenous communities of the Northeast. India has acknowledged this with the 2005 Recognition of Forest Rights legislation, which gave property and livelihood rights to tribal communities (Niraj et al., 2012), in principle strengthening local control. A large proportion of land in the region is community-managed, 62% for example in Arunachal Pradesh (Velho et al., 2016). One community-based resource success story is that of Manas NP in Assam. Bodo tribal communities felt their land rights threatened, when, in 1985, a 39,100 ha area was protected as a Natural World Heritage Site. Armed tribal rebels took control of the park in the 1990s, with negative impacts on wildlife populations, extirpating rhinos completely (Bhattacharya, 2017). A 2003 peace accord created a system of self-rule in the form of the Bodoland Territorial Council, and former guerillas now consider themselves protectors of the park and its wildlife and serve as an anti-poaching force (Bhattacharya, 2017). Indigenous communities of the Northeast must be partners in a collaborative solution if wildlife, including otters, in Northeast India is to be conserved.
Acknowledgements: I thank Nicole Duplaix of the IUCN Otter Specialist Group, Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India for sharing her otter trade database, and Mariner Padwa for graphics.
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