About Otter
Context-”Western Ghats is home to the Eurasian otter.”
confirm the presence of the elusive Eurasian otter — one of the least-known of India’s three otter species — in the Western Ghats.
VULNERABLE/NEAR THREATENED
Facts-
- India is home to 3 of the 13 species of otters found worldwide. These are - Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra); Smooth-coated Otter (Lutra perspicillata) and Small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus).
- The Smooth-coated Otter is distributed throughout the country from the Himalayas southward. But the Common Otter and the Small-clawed Otter are restricted to the Himalayas, to the north of the Ganges and to southern India. The occurrence of all three species has been reported from northeast India and the Western Ghats. In most of their distribution range, otters occur along with gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), crocodile (Crocodylus palustris), Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica), and several species of turtles.
