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www.otter.org IOSF e-update no. 37 – January 2014
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British Animal Honours 2013 IFAW Animal Action Wildlife Conservation Award Winner Award Winner 2012
…the effect this weather is having on all our wildlife is incalculable.
A New Year So we are into another new year and we hope it will be better for our otters than the last. Much of the UK has experienced severe weather conditions and, as a result, many places have suffered terrible floods. Here on Skye we have been slightly more fortunate as we have had no flooding in spite of the gales and rain, although the land is very much like a swamp! But these floods have also proved to be devastating for otters and we have heard of at least seven cubs which have been found on their own since the New Year: two in Newbury and one each in Wales, Cheshire, Stockton-on-Tees, Cumbria and on the Isle of Arran. There will, of course, be more which haven’t been found. The Cumbria otter cub was taken to Sarah Neill at the Aquarium of the Lakes, who helped with Bubble and Squeak and more recently Conrad. Sadly he died a few days later and the vet found that he had got some sort of infection, possibly from the flood waters. So the problem is not just that they are being swept away from Mum but also what they can may catch from the waters. We all feel very sorry for the poor people whose homes have been inundated but the effect this weather is having on all our wildlife is incalculable. Hopefully spring will soon be with us and the weather will improve. 2014 is promising to be a busy and positive year for IOSF. In Asia we will be holding a workshop in Bangladesh in November. We had hoped to be able to do this in
China but this has had to be postponed while more basic groundwork is done to see where the otters are and where would be the best place for such an event. At home we are working with Cardiff University Otter Project who will now be carrying out post mortems on otters from Scotland. Such work has not been done since the late 1990s and so we have been losing valuable information on the health of our otters and the environment.
There will be more exciting developments which we will tell you about when we have more information for you. In the meantime we would ask you to continue with your wonderful support – this means so much to us. Remember to check the Otter Shop as we are always adding new products – and if you come across anything “ottery” which you think we could add to our range please let us know at [email protected]
We are also finding that many of our followers are using social media so please join us on Facebook and Twitter and pass on our messages to your friends. Thanks.
e-update 37, January 2014
www.otter.org IOSF e-update no. 37 – January 2014
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British Animal Honours 2013 IFAW Animal Action Wildlife Conservation Award Winner Award Winner 2012
Conrad
Jasper + Mangal chatting with Conrad
Rescued Cubs All three cubs are now outside in nursery pens and doing very well. Their appetite is
also growing! We decided to keep Conrad separate from Jasper and Mangal as he is quite a bit smaller but their pens are next door to each other and we hear them chattering through the fence! We had the post mortem results from little Jack, who died in November. Unfortunately no cause of
death was found. We are all so familiar with various pathology programmes where they invariably find out what went wrong, but in reality this doesn’t always happen. We always like to know if there was something more we could have done but we have to accept that sometimes the death is unexplained. If you would like to support our cubs in the Sanctuary you can send a cheque marked "Hospital" on the back or make a donation online at www.ottershop.co.uk
Namibia Update (photos: Johan and Cherie Griffioen) We had an update from Johan and Cherie at Kalizo Lodge who are caring for a spotted-necked cub, Ariel: “Ariel caught and ate her first bream from her pond this morning, about 12cm long. She is so proud of herself. I have noticed the last couple of days she has been very active in the water and the bream very scarce. I presume she dug this one out of a hole in the
mudbank where she can spend hours foraging but until now has only come up with the odd snail. I see she has just caught another even bigger one.”
www.otter.org IOSF e-update no. 37 – January 2014
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British Animal Honours 2013 IFAW Animal Action Wildlife Conservation Award Winner Award Winner 2012
“...we are here to take care of you and your otters."
Ariel enjoying bathtime
Good News from India You will remember the good work our friend Apoorva did with the fishing community in Karnataka last year. Well she emailed us recently with some very good news about Shivu, the fisherman who had acted as a field assistant. He has now been asked to assist with some more otter conservation work in the area and he is thrilled. It has come at a very welcome time as he has just had a new baby and the extra income will be a great
help to the family. He has told Apoorva “this is your field, your land...you may come whenever you want...we are here to take care of you and your otters." What a wonderful comment. Apoorva is hoping to visit the area again as soon as she can and she will no doubt give us an update.
Otters in Burma Some of you may have seen the brilliant programmes on Wildlife in Burma. In the last programme they mentioned that an inventory had been made of the various species found. So we contacted Kristofer Helgen, from the Smithsonian Institution, who was responsible for looking at the mammals. He told us that the expedition's camera trapping documented small-clawed otters at Htamanthi, and tracks were also found that were not small-clawed but were probably smooth-coated otters. He also sent us the section of their report to the Burmese government about otters which he has kindly allowed us to reproduce here:
Ariel’s pond
www.otter.org IOSF e-update no. 37 – January 2014
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British Animal Honours 2013 IFAW Animal Action Wildlife Conservation Award Winner Award Winner 2012
Otters are one of the most intensively hunted species in
Myanmar… …extremely valuable in the Asian wildlife
trade.
Asian Small-clawed Otter (Photo: David Emmet)
“Oriental or Asian Small-Clawed Otter Aonyx cinerea (Illiger, 1815) IUCN-Vulnerable The small-clawed otter was camera trapped in aquatic and streamside contexts at Htamanthi, and tracks of this species were observed in several riverside locations. In addition, tracks of a larger species of otter, with more prominent claws than Aonyx, were observed by our team near our base camp at Htamanthi. A former professional hunter in the area confirmed that hunters in Htamanthi are familiar with two species of otters—A. cinerea and a larger species. It is not clear whether this additional species is Lutra lutra or Lutrogale perspicillata, both of which fit the description of this larger species, and both of which are present in northern Myanmar (Corbet and Hill 1992); judging from hunter information and from tracks seen during our survey, Lutrogale perspicillata, seems the more likely possibility. Morris (1936) previously reported otters in the vicinity of Htamanthi, and Rabinowitz et al. (1995) documented a specimen of A. cinerea killed by a hunter. Otters are one of the most intensively hunted species in Myanmar, as otter body parts are subject to high demand and are extremely valuable in the Asian wildlife trade. Local informants explained that the entire body is sought after by Chinese buyers. It is a positive sign that at least two species of otter are still present at Htamanthi despite reports of heavy demand and exploitation. This information is from : Helgen, K.M., D.P. Lunde, N.R. Edmison, R. Piper, C.M. Wemmer, S. Moses, S. Handslip, A. Mamon, J. Evans, G. Buchanan, M.M. Aung,
U.T. Zin, W.E. Htoo, and T.P. Kwa. 2013. Preliminary Report of Results from the 2012-2013 BBC-Smithsonian Biodiversity Surveys in Myanmar. Report to the Office of the President of Myanmar, 79 pp.” It is also possible that hairy-nosed otters may still exist in the north of the country as they were present in the past. As a result, we
are now hoping to have a workshop in Burma in 2015. Oh, and if you are confused about the names Burma or Myanmar, apparently both names are still used. The country is officially called Myanmar, but many countries still recognise it, or did so until recently, as Burma.
www.otter.org IOSF e-update no. 37 – January 2014
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British Animal Honours 2013 IFAW Animal Action Wildlife Conservation Award Winner Award Winner 2012
Bubu (Photo: Reza)
“…first time in over 35 years an otter had been
recorded using a camera trap…”
Brief Update from Indonesia Good news. We recently got the following email from Reza Lubis: “We finally got our forest concession. We got 108,000 hectares of peat swamp to be managed for 60 years in central Kalimantan not far from where I found Bubu our hairy-nosed otter. There are signs of hairy-nosed otters around, and so this will be a good place for otter releases.”
Otters in Holland There was a recent report in the Dutch media that for the first time in over 35 years
an otter had been recorded using a camera trap at Nieuwkoopseplassen in the west of Holland. The first photos only showed a tail but later images showed the whole animal and rangers are monitoring what is going on. The last otter found there was in 1978 and they had all died out by 1988. A reintroduction programme was initiated but
this was quite controversial. Although it is a great idea to have otters back in Holland, some people felt that the causes of their
extinction had not been removed and so they were still at risk. And now there is a greater threat from the roads and it is felt that the government is not putting in efficient mitigation measures. Hopefully the government will recognise the importance of this and that otters will thrive in Holland.
Registration with CAF America Many American organisations who wish to make donations will only do so to charities which are registered as a 501(c) tax-exempt organisation. IOSF has now registered with CAF America (Charities Aid Foundation) and so if you wish to donate in this way please do contact us at [email protected]
Wish List We now have an Amazon Wish List. So if you want to help IOSF but would like to know exactly where your money is going you can order much needed items from the list which come straight to us. Or perhaps you have an Amazon gift voucher you would like to share with the otters? The list can be accessed at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/10P61F4DJMPV0
www.otter.org IOSF e-update no. 37 – January 2014
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British Animal Honours 2013 IFAW Animal Action Wildlife Conservation Award Winner Award Winner 2012
Oliver Otter
Valentine’s Day Competition (Sorry, UK entries only) We have three of these wonderful handcrafted chocolate otters to give away in our
online competition.
The chocolate otters have been kindly donated by Bettys – the Yorkshire family business famous for its Tea Rooms and
online shop (www.bettys.co.uk) and you
have the opportunity to win one of them. You will find the link to our competition page by visiting our Facebook or Twitter pages:
@IOSF
International Otter Survival Fund open group International Otter Survival Fund Otter Shop
Our Otter Adoption Gift Box makes a great Valentine’s Day present. Visit the Otter Shop www.ottershop.co.uk where you will also find our range of otter-themed gifts for the otter lover in your life.
You can also make a gift donation or send an e-card (look out for our Valentine’s Day e-card).
Product of the Month Shark Alley’s Oliver Otter and his friend, Lottie Otter. Handmade by Sarah Kelly Tiny Oliver otter is made from felt & soft furry felt fabric and has a bouquet of red roses in his paw. He is a dinky 11cm x 11cm and is guaranteed to elicit squeals of delight. £16 (Flowers have wire stems so Oliver is not suitable for small children.)
www.otter.org IOSF e-update no. 37 – January 2014
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British Animal Honours 2013 IFAW Animal Action Wildlife Conservation Award Winner Award Winner 2012
Lottie Otter
Lovely Lottie Otter is sewn entirely by hand from soft fluffy brown felt and has a fawn felt tummy. She stands approximately 19cm high. £24 (Lottie might not be suitable for very young children.) Each sale of these wonderful felt otters supports IOSF. (www.sharkalley.co.uk)
Thanks Miss E C Hendry’s Charitable Trust The Henderson Charitable Trust John Noorani – long-time friend of IOSF for donations received from distribution of his photographs. Alfie Pallett – for yet another successful sale at his village hall: And too everyone who has donated. www.everyclick.com www.spendandraise.com/iosf/ www.charitycards.otter.org
International Otter Survival Fund
7 Black Park Broadford
Isle of Skye IV49 9DE Scotland
Email: [email protected] Tel/Fax: ++(0)1471 822487
Join our IOSF mailing list. Click on this link: http://eepurl.com/bLTvv
www.otter.org
The International Otter Survival Fund
Working to Save the Worlds Otters
One of Alfie’s stalls
