Otters are carnivorous
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s in the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
are all
semiaquatic
In biology, semiaquatic can refer to various types of animals that spend part of their time in water, or plants that naturally grow partially submerged in water. Examples are given below.
Semiaquatic animals
Semi aquatic animals include:
* Ve ...
,
aquatic, or
marine, with diets based on
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
and
invertebrates
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
. Lutrinae is a branch of the
Mustelidae
The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in ...
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
, which also includes
weasel
Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bo ...
s,
badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...
s,
mink
Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...
, and
wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...
s, among other animals.
Etymology
The word ''otter'' derives from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
word or . This, and cognate words in other
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
, ultimately stem from the
Proto-Indo-European language
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
root , which also gave rise to the English word "water".
Terminology
An otter's den is called a holt or couch. Male otters are called dogs or boars, females are called bitches or sows, and their offspring are called pups or cubs. The
collective noun
In linguistics, a collective noun is a word referring to a collection of things taken as a whole. Most collective nouns in everyday speech are not specific to one kind of thing. For example, the collective noun "group" can be applied to people (" ...
s for otters are bevy, family, lodge, romp (being descriptive of their often playful nature) or, when in water, raft.
The
feces of otters are typically identified by their distinctive aroma, the smell of which has been described as ranging from freshly mown hay to putrefied fish;
these are known as
spraint
Spraint is the dung of the otter.
Spraints are typically identified by smell and are known for their distinct odors, the smell of which has been described as ranging from freshly mown hay to putrefied fish. The Eurasian otter
The Eurasian ott ...
s.
Life cycle
The
gestation
Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregna ...
period in otters is about 60 to 86 days. The newborn pup is cared for by the bitch, dog, and older offspring. Bitch otters reach sexual maturity at approximately two years of age and males at approximately three years. The holt is built under tree roots or a rocky cairn, more common in Scotland. It is lined with moss and grass.
After one month, the pup can leave the holt and after two months, it is able to swim. The pup lives with its family for approximately one year. Otters live up to 16 years; they are by nature playful, and frolic in the water with their pups. Its usual source of food is fish, and further downriver, eels, but it may sample frogs and birds.
Description
Otters have long, slim bodies and relatively short limbs. Their most striking anatomical features are the powerful
webbed feet
The webbed foot is a specialized limb with interdigital membranes (webbings) that aids in aquatic locomotion, present in a variety of tetrapod vertebrates. This adaptation is primarily found in semiaquatic species, and has convergently evolved m ...
used to swim, and their seal-like abilities holding breath underwater. Most have sharp claws on their feet and all except the sea otter have long, muscular tails. The 13 species range in adult size from in length and in weight. The
Asian small-clawed otter is the smallest otter species and the
giant otter
The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of musteli ...
and
sea otter
The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the small ...
are the largest. They have very soft, insulated underfur, which is protected by an outer layer of long
guard hairs
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
. This traps a layer of air which keeps them dry, warm, and somewhat
buoyant
Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the pr ...
under water.
Several otter species live in cold waters and have high
metabolic rate
Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run ce ...
s to help keep them warm.
European otter
The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...
s must eat 15% of their body weight each day, and
sea otter
The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the small ...
s 20 to 25%, depending on the temperature. In water as warm as , an otter needs to catch of fish per hour to survive. Most
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
hunt for three to five hours each day and
nursing
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
mothers up to eight hours each day.
Feeding
For most otters, fish is the staple of their diet. This is often supplemented by frogs,
crayfish
Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...
and
crabs
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
. Some otters are experts at opening
shellfish
Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater envir ...
, and others will feed on available small mammals or birds. Prey-dependence leaves otters very vulnerable to prey depletion. Sea otters are hunters of
clams
Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two ...
,
sea urchins
Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
and other shelled creatures. They are notable for their ability to use stones to break open shellfish on their stomachs. This skill must be learned by the young.
Otters are active hunters, chasing prey in the water or searching the beds of rivers, lakes or the seas. Most species live beside water, but river otters usually enter it only to hunt or travel, otherwise spending much of their time on land to prevent their fur becoming waterlogged. Sea otters are considerably more aquatic and live in the ocean for most of their lives.
Otters are playful animals and appear to engage in various behaviors for sheer enjoyment, such as making waterslides and then sliding on them into the water. They may also find and play with small stones. Different species vary in their social structure, some being largely solitary, while others live in groups – in a few species these groups may be fairly large.
Species
Extant species
Extinct species
Subfamily Lutrinae
* Genus ''
Lutra
''Lutra'' is a genus of otters, one of seven in the subfamily Lutrinae.
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus includes these species:
Extant species
Extinct species
*†'' Lutra affinis''
*†'' Lutra bressana ''
*†'' Lutra bravardi''
*†'' ...
''
** †''
Lutra castiglionis
''Lutra castiglionis'', the Castiglione otter or Corsican otter, is an extinct species of otter that was endemic to Corsica during the Pleistocene.
Taxonomy
''Lutra castiglionis'' was described in 2000, originally under a new genus, ''Cyrnolutra ...
'' –
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
,
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
** †''
Lutra euxena
''Lutra euxena'' is an extinct species of otter that was endemic to Malta during the middle to late Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 ye ...
'' –
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, Pleistocene
** †''
Lutra nippon'' – Japan, extinct c. 1979''
* Genus ''
Lutrogale
''Lutrogale'' was proposed as generic name by John Edward Gray in 1865 for otters with a convex forehead and nose, using the smooth-coated otter '' L. perspicillata'' as type species.
The genus also contains the following extinct and fossil spec ...
''
** †''
Lutrogale cretensis
The Cretan otter ''(Lutrogale cretensis)'' is an extinct otter that was endemic to Crete during the Pleistocene.
Taxonomy
It was a close relative of the smooth-coated otter ''(L. perspicillata)'', whom today lives only in southern Asia but had a ...
''
* Genus ''
Enhydra
''Enhydra'' is a genus of mustelid that contains the sea otter and two extinct relatives. It is the only extant genus of the bunodont otters group, referring to otters with non-blade carnassials with rounded cusps.
Sea otters probably diverged f ...
''
** †''
Enhydra reevei
''Enhydra'' is a genus of mustelid that contains the sea otter and two extinct relatives. It is the only extant genus of the bunodont otters group, referring to otters with non-blade carnassials with rounded cusps.
Sea otters probably diverged f ...
''
* Genus †''
Algarolutra
''Algarolutra'' is an extinct endemic genus of otter from the Pleistocene of Corsica and Sardinia. The single species ''A. majori'' was originally attributed to the genus ''Cyrnaonyx'' and its type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type s ...
'' – Corsica and
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
, Pleistocene
* Genus †''
Cyrnaonyx
''Cyrnaonyx'' is an extinct genus of Lutrinae, otters from the Pleistocene. It was originally described by Helbing based on materials from France and he also attributed material from Corsica to it. The latter appeared to belong to another speci ...
'' – Europe, Pleistocene
* Genus †''
Enhydriodon
''Enhydriodon'' is an extinct genus of typically large otters that lived in what is now Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Chad, South Africa, Pakistan, and India from the late Miocene up to early Pleistocene. The otter is thought to be a relative of moder ...
'' – Ethiopia, Late
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
to
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[Enhydritherium
''Enhydritherium terraenovae'' is an extinct marine otter endemic to North America that lived during the Miocene through Pliocene epochs from ~9.1–4.9 Ma. ( AEO), existing for approximately .
The ancestral lineage of ''Enhydritherium terraen ...](_blank)
'' – North America, Late Miocene to Early Pliocene
* Genus †''
Limnonyx'' – Germany, Late Miocene
* Genus †''
Megalenhydris
''Megalenhydris barbaricina'' is a Late Pleistocene giant otter from Sardinia. It is known from a single skeleton, discovered in the ''Grotta di Ispinigoli'' near Dorgali, and was described in 1987. The species is one of four extinct otter speci ...
'' – Sardinia, Pleistocene
* Genus †''
Paludolutra'' – Italy, Late Miocene
* Genus †''
Sardolutra
''Sardolutra ichnusae'' is an extinct species of otter from the Late Pleistocene of Sardinia. It was originally described as ''Nesolutra ichnusae''. It was a rather small species of otter, probably living in the sea. Among its characteristics is ...
'' – Sardinia, Pleistocene
* Genus †''
Siamogale
''Siamogale'' is an extinct genus of giant otter from the late Miocene-early Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 '' – eastern Asia, Late Miocene to Early Pliocene
* Genus †''
Sivaonyx'' – Asia and Africa, Late Miocene to Early Pliocene
* Genus †''
Teruelictis
''Teruelictis riparius'' is an extinct mammalian carnivoran, belonging to the family Mustelidae and was probably related to otters. The animal lived in the Upper Miocene and its fossils have been found in Spain. The animal was probably a terrestr ...
'' – Spain, Late Miocene
* Genus †''
Torolutra'' – Africa, Pliocene
* Genus †''
Tyrrhenolutra'' – Italy, Late Miocene
* Genus †''
Vishnuonyx'' – Europe, Asia and Africa, Late Miocene to Early Pliocene
European otter
![Otter in Southwold](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Otter_in_Southwold.jpg)
The European otter (''Lutra lutra''), also called the Eurasian otter, inhabits Europe, most of Asia and parts of North Africa. In the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
, they were common as recently as the 1950s, but became rare in many areas due to the use of
chlorinated hydrocarbon
An organochloride, organochlorine compound, chlorocarbon, or chlorinated hydrocarbon is an organic compound containing at least one covalently bonded atom of chlorine. The chloroalkane class (alkanes with one or more hydrogens substituted by chlo ...
pesticide
Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...
s,
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
and water pollution (they remained relatively common in parts of Scotland and Ireland). Population levels reached a low point in the 1980s, but are now recovering strongly. The UK
Biodiversity Action Plan envisages the re-establishment of otters by 2010 in all the UK rivers and coastal areas they inhabited in 1960.
Roadkill deaths have become one of the significant threats to the success of their re-establishment.
North American river otter
![LutraCanadensis fullres](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/LutraCanadensis_fullres.jpg)
The North American river otter (''Lontra canadensis'') became one of the major animals hunted and trapped for
fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
in North America after European contact. River otters eat a variety of fish and shellfish, as well as small land mammals and birds. They grow to one meter (3 to 4 ft) in length and weigh from five to 15 kilograms (10 to 30 lb).
In some areas, the North American river otter is a protected species, and some places have otter sanctuaries that help sick and injured otters to recover.
Sea otter
![Sea otter cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Sea_otter_cropped.jpg)
Sea otters (''Enhydra lutris'') are classified as
marine mammal
Marine mammals are aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as seals, whales, manatees, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reli ...
s and live along the Pacific coast of North America. Their historic range included shallow waters of the
Bering Strait and
Kamchatka
The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and wes ...
, and as far south as Japan. Sea otters have about 26,000 to 165,000 hairs per square centimeters of skin, a rich fur for which humans hunted them almost to extinction. By the time the
1911 Fur Seal Treaty gave them protection, so few sea otters remained that the fur trade had become unprofitable.
Sea otters eat shellfish and other
invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s (especially
clam
Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two she ...
s,
abalone
Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...
, and
sea urchin
Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
s).
Otter populations are affected by the density of prey they hunt. Because the otter food source is easier to excavate from rocky-bottom habitats, as opposed to soft-bottom habitats, more otters tend to live in waters with rocky bottoms with access to shallow-burrowing prey. They frequently carry a rock in a pouch under their forearm and use this to smash open
shells, making them one of the relatively small number of animals that
use tools. They grow to in length and weigh . Although once near extinction, they have begun to spread again, from remnant populations in California and
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
.
Unlike most marine mammals (such as
seals
Seals may refer to:
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
or whales), sea otters do not have a layer of insulating
blubber
Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians.
Description
Lipid-rich, collagen fiber-laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except for pa ...
.
As with other species of otter, they rely on a layer of air trapped in their fur, which they keep topped up by blowing into the fur from their mouths. They spend most of their time in the water, whereas other otters spend much of their time on land.
Giant otter
![giantotter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Giantotter.jpg)
The giant otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') inhabits South America, especially the Amazon river basin, but is becoming increasingly rare due to poaching, habitat loss, and the use of mercury and other toxins in illegal alluvial gold mining. This gregarious animal grows to a length of up to , and is more aquatic than most other otters.
Relation with humans
Hunting
Otters have been hunted for their
pelts
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket ...
from at least the 1700s, although it may have begun well before then. Early hunting methods included darts, arrows, nets and snares but later, traps were set on land and guns used.
There has been a long history of otter pelts being worn around the world. In China it was standard for the royalty to wear robes made from them. People that were financially high in status also wore them. The tails of otters were often made into items for men to wear. These included hats and belts. Even some types of mittens for children have been made from the fur of otters.
Otters have also been hunted using dogs, specifically the
otterhound
The Otterhound is a British dog breed. It is a scent hound and is currently recognised by the Kennel Club as a Vulnerable Native Breed with around 600 animals worldwide. .
From 1958 to 1963, the 11 otter hunts in England and Wales killed 1,065 otters between them. In such hunts, the hunters notched their poles after every kill. The prized trophy that hunters would take from the otters was the
penis bone, which would be worn as a
tie-pin.
Traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...
(the wildlife trade monitoring network) reported that otters are at serious risk in Southeast Asia and have disappeared from parts of their former range. This decline in populations is due to hunting to supply the demand for skins.
Fishing for humans
For many generations, fishermen in southern Bangladesh have bred
smooth-coated otter
The smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') is an otter species occurring in most of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with a disjunct population in Iraq. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 and is thre ...
s and used them to chase fish into their nets. Once a widespread practice, passed down from father to son throughout many communities in Asia, this traditional use of domesticated wild animals is still in practice in the district of
Narail
Narail ( bn, নড়াইল, pron: ''nɔɽail'') is a district in south-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Khulna Division.
History
Narail town was named after a feudal lord (a zamindar). The zamindars established a market at Roopgonj, als ...
, Bangladesh.
Attacks on humans
Otters are territorial in nature.
Certain regions, such as
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, have seen both otter and human populations expand during the first decade of the 21st century. A 2011 review by the IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group showed that otter attacks reported between 1875 and 2010 occurred most often in Florida, with the majority involving the North American otter. At least 42 instances of attack were found, including one resulting in death and another case of serious injury. Rabies was present in 36% of the anecdotal reports.
80% of otter bite victims do not end up obtaining medical treatment.
Animal welfare groups say that unless threatened, otters rarely attack humans.
In November 2021, a British man in his 60s was ambushed during his early morning walk in
Singapore Botanic Gardens
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a -year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore. It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. T ...
by about 20 otters. Despite weighing over 200 pounds, he was trampled and bitten and could not stand up without help from a nearby rescuer. The man speculated that another runner might have stepped on one of the animals earlier and wished that there could be more lighting installed at that location.
Religion and mythology
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
tells of the
dwarf
Dwarf or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore
* Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
Ótr
In Norse mythology, Ótr (Old Norse: ; alternately: Ott, Oter, Otr, Ottar, Ottarr, Otter) is a dwarf. He is the son of the king Hreidmar and the brother of Fafnir and Regin.
According to the Prose Edda, Ótr could change into any form and used ...
habitually taking the form of an otter. The myth of "Otter's Ransom" is the starting point of the
Volsunga saga.
In
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...
, the character
Lí Ban
Lí Ban (; thus 'paragon of women') may refer to an otherworldly female figure in Irish mythology.
This Lí Ban claimed the beautiful Fand as sister, and was wife to Labraid Luathlám ar Claideb ("Labraid of the swift sword-hand"), the ruler of ...
was turned from a woman into a mermaid, half human and half salmon, and given three hundred years of life to roam the oceans. Her lapdog assumed the form of an otter and shared her prolonged lifetime and her extensive wanderings.
In some Native American cultures, otters are considered
totem animals
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan ...
.
The otter is held to be a clean animal belonging to
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...
in
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...
belief, and taboo to kill.
In popular Korean mythology, it is told that people who see an otter (''soodal'') will attract 'rain clouds' for the rest of their lives.
In the Buddhist Jataka tales, The Otters and The Wolf, two otters agreed to let a wolf settle their dispute in dividing their caught fish but it was taken away by the cunning wolf.
Japanese folklore
![SekienKawauso](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/SekienKawauso.jpg)
In Japanese, otters are called "kawauso" (). In Japanese folklore, they fool humans in the same way as foxes (
kitsune
In Japanese folklore, , are foxes that possess paranormal abilities that increase as they get older and wiser. According to ''yōkai'' folklore, all foxes have the ability to shapeshift into human form. While some folktales speak of employing t ...
) and
tanuki Tanuki may refer to:
*Japanese raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes viverrinus'' or ''Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus''), a mammal native to Japan
*Bake-danuki, a type of spirit (yōkai) in Japanese mythology that appears in the form of the mammal
*A de ...
.
In the
Noto region,
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...
, there are stories where they shapeshift into beautiful women or children wearing checker-patterned clothing. If a human attempts to speak to one, they will answer "oraya" and then answer "araya," and if anybody asks them anything, they say cryptic things like "kawai."
There are darker stories, such as one from
Kaga Province
was a province of Japan in the area that is today the south and western portion of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abb ...
(now
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...
) in which an otter that lives in the castle's moat shapeshifts into a woman, invites males, and then kills and eats them.
In the
kaidan
is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 (''kai'') meaning "strange, mysterious, rare, or bewitching apparition" and 談 (''dan'') meaning "talk" or "recited narrative".
Overall meaning and usage
In its broadest sense, ''kaidan'' refers ...
, essays, and legends of the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
like the "Urami Kanawa" (),
"Taihei Hyaku Monogatari" (), and the "Shifu Goroku" (), there are tales about strange occurrences like otters that shapeshift into beautiful women and kill men.
In the town of Numatachi, Asa District,
Hiroshima Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...
(now
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
), they are called "tomo no kawauso" () and "ato no kawauso" (). It is said that they shapeshift into
bōzu (a kind of monk) and appear before passers-by, and if the passer-by tries to get close and look up, its height steadily increases until it becomes a large bōzu.
In the Tsugaru region,
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the eas ...
, they are said to possess humans. It is said that those possessed by otters lose their stamina as if their soul has been extracted.
They are also said to shapeshift into severed heads and get caught in fishing nets.
In the
Kashima District and the
Hakui District in
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...
, they are seen as a yōkai under the name ''kabuso'' or ''kawaso''. They perform pranks like extinguishing the fire of the paper lanterns of people who walk on roads at night, shapeshifting into a beautiful woman of 18 or 19 years of age and fooling people, or tricking people and making them try to engage in sumo against a rock or a tree stump.
It is said that they speak human words, and sometimes people are called and stopped while walking on roads.
In the Ishikawa and Kochi Prefectures, they are said to be a type of kappa, and there are stories told about how they engage in sumo with otters.
In places like the
Hokuriku region
The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern ...
,
Kii, and
Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
, the otters are seen as a type of kappa. In the
Kagakushū
The , alternatively read as ''Gegakushū'', was a 1444 Japanese dictionary of Chinese characters arranged into semantic headings. The title alludes to Confucius' self-description in the ''Lunyu'': 下学而上達 "My studies lie low, and my pe ...
, a dictionary from the
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
, an otter that grew old becomes a kappa.
In an Ainu folktale, in Urashibetsu (in
Abashiri
is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.
Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the cit ...
,
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
), there are stories where monster otters shapeshift into humans, go into homes where there are beautiful girls, and try to kill the girl and make her its wife.
In China, like in Japan, there are stories where otters shapeshift into beautiful women in old books like ''
In Search of the Supernatural
The ''Soushen Ji'', variously translated as ''In Search of the Sacred'', ''In Search of the Supernatural'', and ''Anecdotes about Spirits and Immortals'', is a Chinese compilation of legends, short stories, and hearsay concerning Chinese gods, ...
'' and the ''Zhenyizhi'' ().
See also
*
References
External links
IUCN SSC Otter Specialist GroupARKivePhotographs and videos of Eurasian otters. On the same site are photos and videos of the marine otter (''Lontra felina''), sea otter (''Enhydra lutris''), smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') and giant otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'').
International Otter Survival Fund
{{Authority control
Carnivorans of Europe
Tool-using mammals
Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Semiaquatic animals