Asian Small-Clawed Otter Husbandry Manual (1998)

4. Environmental and other factors should be surveyed to determine the cause of otter declines.5. People should be encouraged in social forestry. This will enable people to meet their fuelwoodneeds without removing the vegetation cover around the bodies of water.6. Awareness among the local people about the conservation of these species should be pursuedthrough a publicity campaign.7. A well-considered captive breeding, public display, and possible future reintroduction programshould be started.8. A study should be made of the fishing communities that use trained otters and a cooperative societyshould be developed for the education and training of these fishermen in otter conservation.BhutanThe Asian small-clawed otter, the Eurasian otter, and the smooth otter historically occurred in Bhutan,but no current information is available.BruneiThe Asian small-clawed otter, the smooth otter, and the hairy-nosed otter historically occurred inBrunei, but no current information is available.BurmaThe Asian small-clawed otter, the smooth otter, and the Eurasian otter historically occurred in Burma.Salter (1982) considered the smooth otter to be widely distributed, but no other current information isavailable. The extensive wetlands in this country are likely to represent important otter habitat.CambodiaThe Asian small-clawed otter, the smooth otter, the hairy-nosed otter and the Eurasian otter historicallyoccurred in Cambodia but no current information is available. The extensive Tonle Sap wetlands arelikely to be important otter habitat.ChinaSpecies PresentAsian small-clawed otter, smooth otter, Eurasian otterStatus and DistributionThe populations of all otters in China are declining; a fact reinforced by the declining numbers of otterfurs traded in recent years.The Asian small-clawed otter is mainly distributed in Yunnan, Guangdong (including Hainan Island),Guangxi, and Fujian Provinces.The smooth otter is currently only found in southwestern Yunnan province and the coastal area ofGuangdong Province (Zhongshan County and Taishan County.)The Eurasian otter is found throughout China from the northern regions, where it occurs alone, to thesouthern provinces, where it is sympatric with the Asian small-clawed otter and the smooth otter.Asian Small-Clawed Otter Husbandry Manual/Action Plan68