OMG ! I do not know about otter!!!

 Hi all,

Selamat hari Raya Aidilfitri to all who are celebrating!

I remember I promised that i will start writing in this blog more frequent. haha. 

So, recently, I am thinking of topic to write and I have no idea. I decided to write anything that came across my mind. 

Today, I will be sharing about, a little bit of information on Otter of Malaysia. Otter or in Malay language we called it "Memerang:. In Kayan language, we called it "Dengen". I am not really into otter actually but recently I joined one of this workshop last April 25th - 29th - "Malaysia Otter Workshop 2022" organized by MNS Malaysia  with collaboration with the Malaysia Otter Network (MON) and International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF). To my surprised, after being introduced to this species, I really enjoyed learning about them!. This is actually the 6th Asian otter training workshop held by IOSF with previous workshop held in Cambodia (2009), Indonesia (2013), Bangladesh (2014), China (2016) and Laos (2018). and obviously, this is my first time joining this workshop. haha. And I took my annual leave just to join this workshop..haaha...I dare to use my annual leave for this workshop.

Before I continue introducing you guys to Otter of Malaysia, let me share to you about What is the aim of the workshop I attended? well, The aim is to share knowledge of otter conservation in the Southeast Asia region,as well as to improve the otter research and to promote transboundary cooperation among the otter range countries. I believe we have come to a good discussion during the workshop.

What did I get and bring back from the workshop? - I get the knowledge and get to know otter better compare to before joining the workshop. I believe the reason why I don't really know about otter is because the lack of exposes of this species to the public. This species is not really popular if compared to our iconic species such as tiger, elephant, orang utan, tapir , sun bear and the list continued...What we can said is, otter is a forgotten or neglected animal in Asia.. Some of us may considered it as pest as they ate all the fish in the pond..aiyoo(this was my father telling me after he saw otter magazines on my table). 

Nevertheless, otter is a good indicator for the ecosystem. They are the ambassador of healthy and clean environment. Otter is an important top predator in Asia Wetland ecosystem. The  threat such as habitat destruction, pollution, demand for wildlife trade (for fur and as pet) are real for otter. So, there is a need to conserve and to develop a better policy (protection) for this animal species. 

Alright, let me share with you how many otter sp do we have in Malaysia. Thanks to MNS Malaysia for sharing this information. All this information is from the pamphlet that was given to us during our registration day. I will just copy and paste them here. ok!

1) Smooth-Coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata)

The largest and most common found species of otter in Southeast Asia. Upperparts are mid-brown and the fur colour will appear darker when newly emerged out of water. These otters are active both day and night. Smooth-coated otters form large family groups, preying together on fish, shrimps, frog, crabs, insects, and birds. Their calls sound like 'wiuk', the female otter usually produces 2-5 cubs in a group.

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Smooth-coated Otter (source: google)

2) Asian Small- Clawed Otter (Aonyx cinereus)

The otter is named after its highly dexterous toes with partial webbing. The upperpart body colour ranged from brown to greyish-brown. A highly social animal and form lifelong monogamous pairs and large family groups up to 20 individuals. They vocalised like Smooth-coated otter with a 'wiuk' sounds and more than 12 different calls are documented, it has a different diet preference when compared to the other larger species of otter such as crabs, snails, molluscs, insects and small fish. HEnce it hunts further away from water bodies. Largely noctunal but occasionally spotted during the day.

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Asian Small-Clawed Otter (source: google)

3)Hairy-Nosed Otter (Lutra sumatrana) - THE RAREST SPECIES

It has the distinctive features which are the hairy rhinarium and whitish lips, chin and throat. This otter species have darker fur colour compared to the other otter species. It was thought to be extinct until it was recently rediscovered in few scattered locations including Malaysia.. There are very limited study on its ecology. Its diet seems consisted mainly fish. It is mostly solitary, nocturnal and active during crepuscular or twilight period. Surprisingly,  it has a preference for fallen logs as its sprainting site! So far, its presence are detected through camera trapping, direct sighting and spraint DNA.

IUCN Status: Endangered

Hairy- Nosed Otter (source: google)

4) Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra)

The Eurasian otter has the widest distributions and is the most well studied otter species. This species was recorded in Peninsular Malaysia in the 1900s and 2006, and was last seen in Sabah in 2014. Upperparts are dark brown with dense fur. Its diet mainly composed of fish, crustaceans, amphibians supplemented with reptiles and birds. It is both nocturnal and diurnal. It is solitary, but sometimes a mother and her offspring can be seen in a group. It usually produces 2-3 pups, the young will stay with the mother for about 13-15 months. Its home range is about 20-30 km along the river and 3-4 km along the coast.

IUCN Status: Near Threatened 

Eurasian Otter (source: google)

I hope this sharing will help us to identify otter in our area as well as to understand that this species is also important for our ecosystem. Alright, Let me share to you few photos of activities that were conducted during the workshop. All the photos where taken from MNS official facebook page as I don't really took picture during the workshop. hihihihiih (I need a new handphone/camera)

Enjoy!

Group photo with the participants of Malaysia Otter Workshop at Kuala Selangor Nature Park

Spraint detection survey on the ground. We were introduced to the type of spraint. They really can differentiate the spraint belong to which species. wow!. haha (actually it is possible because of the diet)

Spraint analysis(aaahh i forgot to write the steps). 

This is to enable to know the contain of the spraint. We found fish bone, crab shell... By knowing this, they can identify the spraint is from which species. 

We were introduce to FIT apps which is the Footprint Identification Technology by the WildTrack team. This picture show us training to find otter's footprint and label it using the FIT Field Protocol for Otter.

Alright, I guess that it for now.. I hope you understand my writing this time and hoping to see you guys again in my next writing. :)

Bye.

And let us wish and hope for a better conservation and future for otter..

Happy Otter Day!!!!

From,

Yonny