Asian Small-clawed Otters (Aonyx cinereus) are social and gregarious. They live in social groupings up to 15 members, believed to be family based around a pair that mate for life.
They have, as their name implies, very short claws on their fingers with nearly human dexterity (nimbleness), with limited webbing on their front paws. They use their *very* delicate sense of touch to catch prey.
Asian small-clawed otters are the smallest of all of the otters, ~ 37" (95 cm) long and weighing ~13 lbs (5 kg). They have a *plumper* appearance than the rest of the otters, with a broad rounded head, and with very little difference between females and males.
This otter has a large distribution range (the geographic area in which they live) across southeastern Asia: from India across to Palawan (the Philippines), Taiwan, and southern China.
This species is tolerant of imperfect conditions, and because of this are the otter species most commonly kept in captivity (zoos, aquariums, etc.). In their native range they have even been kept and trained as fishing companions, primarily for driving fish in to nets. Due to decreased fish stocks because of over-fishing from *modern* fishing techniques, like gill-netting, this practice is becoming less common. This also means that the habitat and food-sources for all of the otters in the area is being damaged/depleted. The Asian Small-clawed Otter is listed as "Vulnerable" in IUCN RedList.
Smooth Coated Otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) have also been trained as fishing companions in southeast Asia.
VIDEO! To see an example of otters assisting with net fishing, view this video from 9:13 to 11:00.
Video credited to and linked from Nature and Life, Episode #160 (via YouTube).
Cool vid guys, Thank you!
Smooth coated otters are up to ~51" (1.3 m) long and 25 lbs (12 kg) in weight. They have a velvety appearance because of their short dense fur and lean bodies.
The smooth-coated otter also lives in family groupings based on a monogamous mated pair. The alpha female (the female of the mated pair) is dominant over all of the other otters in the *romp* (romp = any group of otters, except sea otters which are called rafts when floating together in groups).
Even though they are the most common otter species in their range, the Smooth coated otter faces many of the same problems as the Asian small-clawed otter and is also listed as "Vulnerable" in IUCN RedList. Their distribution (where they live) ranges across much of southern and southeastern Asia, with a recent (and currently unknown) population in Iraq.
In 1960 a smooth coated otter from Iraq, Mijbil, became world famous when Gavin Maxwell published "Ring of Bright Water" (the novel was made in to a movie in 1969).
Phylogenetic Tree of The Otters:
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