Asian Small-Clawed Otter Husbandry Manual (1998)

1. The otter species probably disappeared from Hong Kong due to hunting for pelts and for livers,which are thought to have medicinal value.2. Habitat disturbances, such as the development of housing estates and fish ponds, have reducedavailable otter habitat.3. Increasing problems of industrialization in Hong Kong and the adjacent Shenzhen Special EconomicZone in China are leading to increasing threats of pollution by PCBs and heavy metals.Conservation Priorities1. WWF-Hong Kong is looking into the possibility of reintroducing otters to Hong Kong.2. Otters imported from China are no longer sold for food in Hong Kong, but live otters may still beimported into the territory--this should be investigated.IndiaSpecies PresentAsian small-clawed otter, smooth otter, Eurasian otterStatus and DistributionAll otters in India are becoming increasingly rare outside of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, andare threatened in many areas due to reduction in prey biomass, poaching, and reduction of habitat. Theremaining otters in India are in fragmented populations and are rarely encountered outside the protectedareas.The Asian small-clawed otter is thought to be the rarest otter in India. It is found in the Himalayanfoothills from Kulu in Himachal Pradesh eastwards to the northeast hill states; in the plains of Assam andWest Bengal; in the higher elevations of hill ranges of Coorg (Kodagu) in Karnataka; in Goa; and in theNilgiris and the Palni Hills (Tamil Nadu). There have been no recent sightings or captures of this otter inthe high ranges of Kerala, however. It is absent over the whole of central India.The smooth otter is found throughout India from the Himalayas southwards. It is reported in the statesof Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, West Bengal, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, and Maharashtra. In most of these states, the otter populationshave declined in areas in which they were once quite common outside of the protected areas. There arevery good populations in the Periyar and Nagarahole National Parks.The information on the Eurasian otter in India is vague, but it is known to occur in the foothills of thewestern Himalayas and in the southern Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and in Goa. Inthe protected areas in the Terai, and foothills of the Himalayas (for instance in the Dudhwa and CorbettNational Parks), there are thriving populations.Legal StatusThe Asian small-clawed otter is included in Schedule 1, and the Eurasian otter and the smooth otter areincluded in Schedule II (Part 11) of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. AU otters areAsian Small-Clawed Otter Husbandry Manual/Action Plan70