News highlights:
- Eurasian otter caught in the infrared camera along the Neeru stream in Jammu and Kashmir.
- The first photographic record of the semi-aquatic carnivorous mammal has indicated that some stretches of the Neeru stream, a tributary of the Chenab river, are still unpolluted.
Key Takeaway:
- Three Eurasian otters, two adults and one sub-adult, were camera-trapped by a team of researchers from the University of Jammu’s Institute of Mountain Environment (IME) Bhaderwah.
- The otters were located in the Neeru stream of the Chenab basin.
Eurasian otter:
- About:
- The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia.
- The Eurasian otter is a typical species of the otter subfamily.Â
- Brown above and cream below, these long, slender creatures are well-equipped for their aquatic habits.
- Distribution and habitat:
- The Eurasian otter is the most widely distributed otter species; its range includes parts of Asia and northern Africa, as well as spread across Europe, south to Palestine.
- In western Nepal, its presence was documented at elevations of around 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in the Barekot river in Jajarkot District and at 1,337 m (4,386 ft) in Tubang river in Eastern Rukum District.
- In India, it is distributed in the Himalayan foothills, southern Western Ghats and the central Indian landscape.
- Diet:
- The Eurasian otter’s diet mainly consists of fish.
- Fish is its most preferred choice of food in Mediterranean and temperate freshwater habitats.
- During the winter and in colder environments, it also feeds on amphibians, crustaceans, insects, birds and sometimes small mammals, including young European beavers.
- Breeding:
- Eurasian otters are strongly territorial, living alone for the most part.
- An individual’s territory may vary between about 1 and 40 km (1–25 mi) long, with about 18 km (11 mi) being usual.
- The length of the territory depends on the density of food available and the width of the water suitable for hunting
- The territories are only held against members of the same sex, so those of males and females may overlap.
- Mating takes place in water.
- Threats:
- The Eurasian otter declined across its range in the second half of the 20th century primarily due to pollution from pesticides such as organochlorine and polychlorinated biphenyls.
- Other threats included habitat loss and hunting, both legal and illegal.
- The decline in the population of native freshwater fishes in the rivers, which is the preferred food of Eurasian otters, along with the expansion of exotic fish species like centrarchids, could potentially put Eurasian otters at risk for extinction.
- Conservation Status:
- It is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List.
- CITES: Appendix I.
- Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule II.
- It is listed as endangered in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand and critically endangered in Mongolia.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: The Hindu