The online pet trade has emerged as a pressing threat to otters in Southeast Asia with a new TRAFFIC-IUCN Otter Specialist Group (OSG) study revealing hundreds of the animals for sale on Facebook and other websites over a four-month period. The Illegal Otter Trade in Southeast Asia, released today, revealed a high demand for juvenile […]
Tag: Lutra lutra
POLL: Should the illegal otter trade in India be stopped?
A new TRAFFIC report sheds light on the intensifying illegal trade in Asian otters for their skin as well as the rise in illegal otter pet trade. India is a hotspot of otter poaching, according to a new report by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. Of the 167 otter seizures in South and Southeast Asia […]
Unique new book provides further insights into the world of the elusive otter
The first book providing spectacular photographs and an insight into the lives and behaviour of ALL 13 species of otters has now been launched. It contains detailed information about the magnificent Giant Otter of the Amazon, the tiny Asian Small-Clawed Otter so often found in zoos, the Sea Otter with its charming habits of cracking […]
‘River wolves’ recover in Peruvian park, but still remain threatened inside and out (photos)
This highly intelligent, deeply social, and simply charming freshwater predator almost vanished entirely due to a relentless fur trade in the 20th Century. But decades after the trade in giant river otter pelts was outlawed, the species is making a comeback—at least in well-managed protected areas. A new study in PLOS ONE finds that the […]