From 11th March 2013 to 15th March 2013
I have been documenting the presence of Otters in Goa as a part of the Small Mammals project undertaken by the Mhadei Research Centre. Otters are locally known as “Udh” in Goa. On this trip I have come to Elsewhere Eco Resort, Mandrem, Goa to photograph the Smooth Coated Otters.
Indian Otters have been scarcely studied. The Book of Indian Animals by S. H. Prater and A Field Guide to Indian Mammals by Vivek Menon provide some information about them. I also got some more inputs from Dipani Sutaria, Girish Punjabi and Vidya Athreya.
There are 2 species of Otters found in Goa namely the Smooth Coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and the Small Clawed Otter (Amblonyx cinereus). While Small Clawed Otter is found along the forest streams of northern Western Ghats, the Smooth Coated Otter is found along the coast with Mangroves being its preferred habitat.
Reached Elsewhere Eco Resort on a hot Monday afternoon, Denzil and Barbra provided info about the property and their sightings. I was glad to know that there is significant amount of Small mammal, reptile and bird activity within the property. The Otter Creek along the property looked very promising habitat for the Smooth Coated Otters.
In addition to Otters, I was also interested in photo-documenting the Common Palm Civet and the Grey Mongoose that frequently roams around the property.
I had brief chat with Salu and the security guards about their sightings. Salu being the local resident had lots to share. There were some small mammal trails and scats at various locations within the property.
I had a tent ready along the Otter creek, an ideal location for an Otter sighting. As I scanned the property it seemed quite promising with some small mammal trails and scats.
Spend the evening by the tent jetty waiting for Otters to arrive, but sighted none. As sun went down it was time for the Common Palm Civets to come out. I was setting up my equipment for the night shoot, just then Salu came to call me as the security guard had sighted a Palm Civet next to the main gate. We rushed in to the location; I was delighted to sight one up the coconut tree. It was hidden up the branches; we waited and watched it move from one coconut tree to another.
I spent the entire next day waiting for the Otters to arrive. While the wait for the elusive Otter still continued, I had a great time in the night with the Palm Civets. It was fantastic to observe them moving around from one tree to another.
On 13th, I was up early morning; sitting by my tent jetty and waiting for the Otters to arrive. Suddenly some action nearby caught my eye. Eurasian Kingfisher had caught a prawn and was in the process of eating it. Quickly, focused the camera on the Kingfisher and documented the action.
Latter, I went up the creek along with Salu in the canoe to look for Otters. Salu was mentioning different areas where he had sighted Otters. Though the area seemed to be quite potential habitat for the Otters, but there were no Otter sightings as yet.
In the evening, I went to survey another area of the creek that passed through the village. Spoke to a fisherman there, gathered some more info about the Otter sightings. A particular stretch up there looked very promising, so decided to spend the next morning there.
Next morning, I went to the village area along the creek. Found a location to hide inside the mangroves, set the camera there and waited. To my surprise, on the other side of the creek I saw a Grey Mongoose walk by. It was wonderful to watch a Grey Mongoose in the mangroves.
The wait for the Otter continued....
On 15th March, I was scheduled to leave after a morning session and it was my last chance to get a glimpse of an Otter on this trip. As I spend time observing ripples in the Otter and hoping for the Otter to arrive suddenly there was a different action in the water, the Smooth Coated Otter had finally arrived. Within no time it was on the other side of the creek with a fish in its mouth.
After it had finished eating it dived into the water.
I could see it moving under water, it popped its head out couple of times before moving away.
These Otters move up and down the creek in search of food (mainly fish). As they drive away the fish, they are not liked by the local fishermen. With increasing human settlements in the area, the pressure on these species is enormous.
Arial view of the Otter creek with the sighting location (N15 39.610 E73 42.887) marked can be seen below.
Both the Smooth Coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and the Small Clawed Otter (Amblonyx cinereus) are listed as Vulnerable under the IUCN Red List and their population has been decreasing as years go by. As very few undisturbed patches of their habitat remain, habitat deterioration and habitat loss is the major threat. They are also poached for their skin and meat. There is an immediate need to protect these species and their habitat.
My special thanks to Denzil Sequeira, Barbra Dsilva, Nirmal Kulkarni, Mhadei Reasearch Center and the Goa Forest Department for their support.
