The smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) is a freshwater otter species from regions of South and Southwest Asia, with the majority of its numbers found in Southeast Asia. It has been ranked as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List since 1996, as it is threatened by habitat loss, pollution of wetlands and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. As the common name indicates, its fur is relatively smooth, and somewhat shorter in length than that of other otter species.The male is larger but the female is the dominant one in the group.
Lutrogale perspicillata
Lutrogale
4-20 YEARS
This species is unusually social and mostly nocturnal. Family groups which include the breeding pair with up to four young born in previous seasons may nest and hunt together within a territory measuring 7 – 12 km². They mark their territory with a strong musky scent that they spread on vegetation from the anal scent glands of both males and females, a behavior called sprainting.
Mustelidae
7-11KG
The Smooth-coated otter lives in southern and Southeast Asia, China, and India, and in Iraq there is a small population. These otters are primarily found in lowlands, peat swamp forests, coastal mangrove forests, large forested rivers, freshwater wetlands, lakes, and rice paddies.
Smooth-coated otters were observed to forage on river banks among tree trunks. They feed mainly on fish including Trichogaster, climbing gourami and catfish. During the rice planting season, they also hunt rats in rice fields. Snakes, amphibians and insects constitute a small portion of their diet.