STATUS
IUCN : VUA2acd
CAMP : Not evaluated
CITES : Appendices
Schedule : II (Part II)
Social Group : Group
Activity : Diurnal
Population : Not known but a few may be surviving in Gujarat
👉Local name : Jal Biladi, Jal marjar
👉Physical measurements:👇
Length : 120 cm
Weight : 7 - 12 kg
Gestation : 63 - 65 days
Litter size : 1 - 4
Breeding : winter
👉Description : This otter has long, slim and hairy body including a long tail. Its neck is white, whereas the remaining body is grey.
👉Food : It hunts fish, crabs, frogs, rats and waterbirds.
👉Distribution : In Gujarat, it occurs in the river Narmada.
👉Habitat : Large rivers and lakes.
👉Behaviour : It can be seen catching and eating fish. It makes a hole near the river bank in which, the female gives birth to young ones. Several families of this otter may come together while fishing. Otters can walk considerably on the land apart from having excellent swimming and diving abilities.
👉Signs of presence : One can infer its presence by noticing its droppings/excreta and/or pugmarks (i.e., mark of five nails).
👉When excited, this otter produces short yelping barks. It also produces a type of whistle as an alarm note to their fellows. In Orissa and Sind, these otters are kept by fishermen and employed to drive fish into their nets. These otters also are used as decoys by the 'Muhana' people of Sind to capture River dolphins. Three species of otter occur in India, viz., Common otter, Smooth Indian otter and Clawless otter. None of these species are plentiful in the modern time due to human activities.
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