Lutrogale perspicillata perspicillata

(Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1826)

Vernacular names
English : Smooth-coated otter
French : Loutre géante d’Asie, Loutre à pelage lisse

Classification
Class : Mammalia
Order : Carnivora
Family : Mustelidae
Notes : 2 other subspecies known.

Identification
Body length of 75 cm, tail length of 45 cm, weight of 11 kg. Feet fully clawed and webbed, short limbs. Very smooth coat, usually dark brown to reddish-brown with grey chest, breast and cheeks. Rostrum is broad.

Range and habitat
This subspecies occurs in South East Asia from India and south China to greater Sundas. Species also found in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Lives in inland and coastal wetlands, mangroves and rivers.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : VULNERABLE
CITES : Appendix I
Status : The species used to be relatively common but is now declining at increasing speed because of habitat loss and pollution.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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