Study finds presence of the semi-aquatic animal in all 14 creeks in the region
Sindhudurg has some good news. And guess who is bringing it? The good old otter.
For one, the presence of the very shy, semi-aquatic animals in an area indicates that the water quality there is good, say experts. An ongoing study has found otter presence in all the 14 creeks in Sindhudurg.
“The aim of the study is to understand the smooth-coated and small-clawed otters, their habitat and food preferences, broad ecology and threats to them,” said Dr Satish Pande, director of Ela Foundation.
The one-year study, Status of Otters in the Mangroves habitats of Sindhudurg, is being conducted by the Pune-based Ela Foundation with the State Mangrove Cell as part of a Government of India-United Nations Development Project (UNDP).
The study started almost six months ago and it has finished surveying all the 14 creeks, some of which are as long as around 45-km long, said Pande.
“Otters are mainly active around dawn and dusk and hence we have to track otter dens by finding their faecal matter and traditional sites with the help of local fishermen. Locating these sites is quite hard and our team is using boats as well as travelling on foot,” said Pande. Camera traps are also used to study and document their behaviour.
As per the international code, the team has an intensive survey unit (ISU) to study otter habitat in the mangroves of Sindhudurg. It has found otters ranging from a minimum of two to a raft of 12 in the area. This is just the initial finding. A lot more study has to be done on this front.
About the immediate threats, Pande said that, till a few years back, otters were poached for their furs, which were in great demand in China and a few other countries. So much so that for every tiger skin the forest department used to seize, there would be 10 otter fur.
“Now poaching is almost nil, but otters face threat from water pollution and habitat destruction, especially destruction of mangroves. One of the major threats is sand-dredging,” he said.
N Vasudevan, chief conservator of forests and head of the Mangrove Cell, said that there is no comprehensive data available on otters in mangrove habitats.
Otters are not only on top of the marine food chain but also indicate water quality. “It's always been our priority to document and study all kinds of marine biodiversity in the waters as well as mangroves of Sindhudurg so that we can increase steps to conserve them,” he said.
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