Mammals of the WorldSmooth-coated Otter
Lutra perspicillata
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Mustelidae
- Genus
- Lutra
- IUCN status
- VU (as Lutrogale perspicillata)
- Distribution
- Iraq|Pakistan|India|Nepal|Bhutan|Bangladesh|Myanmar|China|Laos|Vietnam|Thailand|Cambodia|Malaysia|Singapore|Indonesia|Brunei
- Realm
- Indomalaya
About this species
- Size
- Head and body 59–64cm; tail 37–43cm
- Weight
- 7–11kg
- Diet
- Mainly fish; also shrimp, crabs, molluscs, birds, amphibians and rats
- Habitat
- Rivers, estuaries, wetlands, mangroves and rice fields
- Litter size
- Up to 5 pups, occasionally more
- Gestation
- 60–63 days
The smooth-coated otter is a relatively large otter with a short, sleek coat, dark to reddish brown on the back and greyish brown below. Its head is rounder than other otters' and the hairless nose is roughly diamond-shaped. The tail is flattened rather than round, and the short, strong legs end in large, webbed feet with sharp claws for gripping slippery fish. It is native to South and Southeast Asia (Wikipedia, general species account).
It lives in groups of up to 11, resting on sandy banks and denning under tree roots or among boulders. It is active mostly by day. In the Zuari estuary's khazan lands in Goa, droppings show a diet of mostly fish, with more shrimp and crabs in the monsoon. Where breeding depends on monsoon rain, pups are born between October and February. Along the Chambal River the otters are most vulnerable in winter when rearing young, and trapping is widespread in India, Nepal and Bangladesh (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)