Otters in China

Three species of otters are known from China: the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), the Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus) and the smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata). The Eurasian otter was once widespread throughout the country, while the other two species occurred in more tropical southern regions. Historically, otters were excessively hunted in China for their furs and as traditional medicine; annual harvest in tens of thousands animals were reported by government statistics until otters became protected by law in 1989. The remaining otter populations, however, continue to plummet, as threats like wetland degradation, pollution and fish stock depletion worsen.

Conservationists from the Hong Kong-based Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden (KFBG) have spent the last 6 years studying the conservation status of otters across China. Their results with a combination of field survey, literature review and expert interviews up to 2017 have been published in the journal Oryx (DOI: 10.1017/S0030605317000400).

“Although other relict otter populations surely remain undetected in remote corners of this vast country, our study clearly indicates that otters are on the verge of extinction in China.”, said the head of KFBG’s china conservation team and IUCN SSC OSG member Dr. Bosco Chan, who led the study.

“Luckily, small but stable otter populations survive in certain well-protected reserves, and where poaching is effectively controlled, even close to busy cities,” reported Li Fei, co-author of the Oryx paper.

According to Dr. Bosco Chan, there is ample evidence that otters can recover from once extreme low numbers, as in Europe and America. “With some immediate and determined actions to protect the last populations of China’s otters and their habitats, we can bring them back on the brink of extinction,” he explained.