OTTERS

Common Name: European/ Common otter

Scientific Name: Lutra lutra monticola
Bangla Name: Sadharan Ud Biral

Dark chocolate-brown body, limbs and tail. Cheek and throat whitish. The waterproof coat is rather long and rough and dorsally grizzled. The feet is webbed and acts as paddles, the heavy muscular tail laterally compressed, is used as a propeller and steering organ. The ears are small and the nostrils valvular. The hairs of the muzzle terminate above the naked nose in an angular or zig-zag line which in the smooth coated otter ends in a straight line (Prater 1980). This and a fold on the nostril distinguishes it from the other similar looking smooth-coated otter. Head and body 75 cm, tail 45 cm and weighs 10 kg. Two decades back the species was common in suitable habitats all over the entire country. Due to the fur trade its population is decreasing at an alarmingly fast rate. The situation has been further aggravated by the disappearance of ditches, ponds and vegetation around the villages. Most countryside populations have moved out to the forests and coastal districts. Fishermen of the Sundarbans use them for driving fish into the net.

Common Name: Smooth-Coated Otter

Scientific Name: Lutra perspicillata perspicillata
Bangla Name: Mashrin Ud

The very name suggests that the coat is very smooth, soft and rather shining. Colour varies from blackish to chocolate brown with tinge of yellow, lighter than the common otter, unlike which its dorsal fur is not grizzled. Cheek, chin and throat is grey to whitish in colour, underparts paler than the back. The hairs on the muzzle terminate in a straight line and no fold on the nasal aperture, thus distinguishing it from the European otter. Head and body 70 cm, tail 42 cm and weighs 10 kg. It is found all over the country, comparatively more common in the southern districts and in the eastern part of the country than in northern and western Bangladesh, West of the Jamuna.

Common Name: Oriental small clawed Otter

Scientific Name: Aonyx cineree concolor
Bangla Name: Nakharbihin Ud

The name aptly suits the animal because of near absence or rudimentary structure of the claws, which do not exceed the limit of the toe pads. Cubs always have elongated claws as opposed to the grown ups. Colour brownish, washed with yellow, ventral side paler than the back. The coat is smooth and ungrizzled. It has grey to whitish cheek, chin and throat. Its the smallest of our three species, head and body 50 cm, tail 30 cm and weighs 5 kg. This species is a rare one, found in small numbers in the eastern hilly forests and in the coastal districts.