IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin

©IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group

Volume 37 Issue 3 (November 2020)

Abstracts

Sighting of a Smooth Coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata in Manas National Park, Assam, India
Pages 136 - 139 (Report)
Alolika Sinha, Nilakshi Devi and Arjun B. Potter
The Smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) is a vulnerable mustelid which occurs in wetlands and in low-lying areas. The species was once common in the floodplains of Assam, India, but it is now mostly restricted to protected areas in this region. Here, we report the sighting of this species in Manas National Park (MNP), Assam. The otter was found in the shallow waters of Beki River, with rocky substrate. This note confirms the occurrence of the species in MNP with photographic evidence.
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Approach to a Qualitative Methodology for the Search and Direct Detection of the Neotropical Otter (Lontra longicaudis Olfers, 1818)
Pages 140 - 146 (Short Note)
Oscar Medina-Barrios
The Neotropical otters (Lontra longicaudis) are semi-aquatic mammals. In general, they have the habit of defecating in conspicuous places of the body of water or in adjacent terrestrial ecosystems. Being a non-invasive method, tracking is an important tool for the study of threatened species or animals that are difficult to observe. For this reason, the present work aims to make an approach to a qualitative methodology for the search and direct detection of the Neotropical otter using fresh feces. During February 2015, two diurnal routes were carried out on  Palomino River and Jordan River (Colombia) with 3 and 2 km respectively, searching latrines on riverbeds and banks in conspicuous places, selecting those with fresh feces (no older than 12 hours) as fixed observation stations to  increase the probability of detection of L. longicaudis. Five observation points were defined in each river: at the Palomino River 104 latrines were found, 14 of them with fresh feces and direct observation was achieved four times; 24 latrines were found at the Jordan River, all of them old and therefore, there was no direct detection of the species. The methodology proposed here is purely qualitative and aims to increase the probability of detection and direct observation of the Neotropical otter in the dry season of the year.
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Recent Observations of Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra, including White-Coated Individuals, in the Southern Sikhote Alin, the Russian Far East
Pages 147 - 157 (Report)
Mikhail S. Goncharuk, Inna V. Voloshina, Vladimir V. Aramilev, Anastasia A. Shurygina, and Linda L. Kerley
Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is a wide-ranging species with third of its range in Russia. Although Eurasian otter is categorized as “Near Threatened” with declining population by IUCN, it is also reported that Primorsky Krai is a region with high density of otter population in the Russian Far East. This study represents empirical data on otters in the south-eastern part of Primorsky Krai and updates existing status on a range map with use of by-catch camera-trapping and live trapping. Data from Lazovsky Reserve and Zov Tigra National Park archives included only white-coated individuals. During 2014-2019 Eurasian otter was camera-trapped 84 times at 18 camera-trap stations, live trapped on 2 occasions and 7 reports of white-coated individuals were obtained by The Chronicles of Nature of the Lazovsky Reserve.  The spread of records geographically across the survey area and through the survey period suggests a resident, well established population in this area.
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Activity Patterns of the Neotropical Otter (Lontra longicaudis) in the River Orinoco (Colombia)
Pages 158 - 162 (Short Note)
Germán Garrote, Antón Alvarez, Victoria Asensio, Beyker Castañeda, Brayan Marín, Patricia Bonilla and Fernando Trujillo
The Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis), classified as Near Threatened, has the widest distribution of all South American species of the genus Lontra. Historically, this otter has always been considered to be a diurnal species despite the fact that only one study has ever investigated its activity cycles. Therefore, knowledge of the activity patterns of the Neotropical otter is still at best anecdotal. In this study, we describe the activity patterns of this otter in an area on the river Orinoco frequented by humans using records obtained by remote camera trapping. Our results seem to indicate that the Neotropical otter in our study area is mostly active at night and at dawn, which indicates that this species’ activity cycles are more flexible than once thought.
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New Localities of the Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Upper Euphrates River Basin, a Remarkable Range Extension in Western Iraq
Pages 163 - 170 (Report)
Omar F. Al-Sheikhly, Mukhtar K. Haba, and Filippo Barbanera
Records of the Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) have been confined to the waterbodies of southern, central, and northern Iraq (Kurdistan). Although its status in the Upper Euphrates River Basin in western Iraq is not fully explored, it seems to be rare. In August 2019, two adult Eurasian otters were reported from two new localities in Anbar Province after being strangled by fishing nets. These records represent the first photographic evidence for a remarkable range extension of the Eurasian Otter distribution range in western Iraq.
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A Review of the Hairy-Nosed Otter (Lutra sumatrana) in Borneo and a Recent Sighting at Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah
Pages 171- 178 (Report)
Deborah Pain
The Hairy-nosed Otter Lutra sumatrana is one of the rarest and least well known of the world’s Otters. The species was seen and photographed in close proximity to Danum Valley Field Centre, Sabah, in October 2019. The Danum Valley Conservation Area comprises protected lowland dipterocarp forest and may be the only place currently known to host all four Southeast Asian Otter species. In this paper I describe the sighting, summarise other recent (post 2000) Hairy-nosed Otter records in Borneo and briefly discuss the status and conservation of the species.
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