Asian Small-Clawed Otter Husbandry Manual (1998)

The Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinerea) is one of the five species of otters from Asia. It isthe smallest of the world’s otters, rarely weighing more than 5kg. A gregarious species, it isoften seen in large groups of up to 15 animals and captive studies suggest that these groups arecomposed of an alpha breeding pair and their offspring from successive litters. Asian smallclawedotters have unusual hand-like front paws with increased tactile sensitivity and reducedwebbing, which they use to forage for their prey of crustaceans, mollusks, and small fish. Asiansmall-clawed otters are found from Palawan (Philippines) through Indonesia, Southeast Asia,southern China, and westwards through the Himalayan foothills of Bangladesh, Bhutan, andNepal. A disjunct population occurs in southern India (Foster-Turley P., Santiapillai C., ActionPlan for Asian Otters).Distribution of the Asian small-clawed otter ( Aonyx cinerea)σλνMaybe extinctRareFairly common? Unknown¯ No informationTable of Contents/IntroductionIV