KATHMANDU — Scientists have for the first time in 185 years confirmed the presence of the Asian small-clawed otter in Nepal, thrilling conservationists and researchers looking for clues to its existence here.

The last time the Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus), the smallest of the world’s 13 known otter species, was recorded by scientists in Nepal was in 1839.

“After years of speculation about its presence in Nepal, we can finally confirm that the small-clawed otter lives on in the country,” said Mohan Bikram Shrestha, the lead author of a short note published in the latest edition of the bulletin of the Otter Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority.

Although historically three species of otters are believed to occur in Nepal, modern researchers had until now only confirmed the presence of smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) and Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra), with a question mark hanging over the small-clawed otter. During that time, reports have come in, never confirmed until now, of small-clawed otter sightings in Makalu Barun National Park in Nepal’s eastern Himalayas and Kailali and Kapilvastu districts in the western plains.

Shrestha told Mongabay that the confirmed encounter occurred last November, when forestry department officials in Dadeldhura district, on Nepal’s western border with India, found a juvenile small-clawed otter at the confluence of the Rangun and Puntara rivers.

“As it was found in a fragile and injured state, the forest officers decided to feed and nurse it, but they didn’t know which species it belonged to,” Shrestha. The forest officers, led by Rajeev Chaudhary, shared the images and video of the animal, known locally as saano owt, with the IUCN Otter Specialist Group. The members of the group then confirmed it to be a small-clawed otter.

The discovery comes after the species was confirmed for the first time in 2022 in the Darjeeling area of neighboring India, which shares a similar topography with eastern Nepal. “Following the discovery in Darjeeling, we had been keeping our eyes open for the species in eastern Nepal, but it showed up in the west,” Shrestha said.

There have also been reports of sightings of the animal in the eastern parts of the country, but none of them have been confirmed.

The Asian small-clawed otter is classified as vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List. Its range stretches from Indonesia in the east to Nepal in the west.

Like its smaller cousin, the Eurasian otter was also something of a cryptic species in Nepal, with no confirmed evidence of its presence here for decades. That changed in 2021, following discoveries in the Barekot, Roshi and Tubang rivers, then a flurry of sightings in different parts of the country.

“We hope that the discovery of the small-clawed otter in western Nepal would trigger a similar flurry of reports,” said Shrestha, who had also played an instrumental role in the rediscovery of the Eurasian otter in Nepal.

As for smooth-coated otters, although their presence in the country has never been in question, sightings of them still excite conservationists. This was especially the case in Chitwan National Park, where their reappearance in September 2023 after two decades spurred calls for more research.

“This is an incredibly significant finding,” Sanjan Thapa, deputy coordinator of the Otter Specialist Group’s Himalayan region, said of the latest development. “We had long suspected that the Asian small-clawed otter might still survive in Nepal, but without concrete evidence, its status remained uncertain.”

Thapa, part of the team that confirmed the 2023 sighting of the smooth-coated otter in Chitwan, said researchers tend to feel a bit edgy about a species when it hasn’t been reported for more than 50 years.

“We had received suggestions that we remove the small-clawed otter from the Nepal otter list as it hadn’t been found for a long time,” he said. “However, we decided not to do so in the hope that it would be rediscovered sooner or later.”

The discovery adds to the challenge of saving Nepal’s otters as the country prepares to finalize and implement an action plan for otters, Thapa said. “Now that we have concrete proof that the small-clawed otter is also found in Nepal, we need to incorporate it in our policies and programs,” he said.

Both Eurasian and smooth-coated otters are protected under the country’s Aquatic Animal Protection Act. The newly rediscovered species, however, isn’t on the list. “The first step would be to add the species to the list,” Thapa said.

In addition to this, severe degradation of Nepal’s rivers due to overexploitation has negatively impacted otters and other aquatic species. This includes the dumping of raw sewage and industrial waste, leaching of agricultural pesticides, and rapid urbanization and infrastructure developments that all undermine otter habitats across the country.

Widespread damming of rivers coupled with unsustainable fishing practices have also reduced food sources for Nepal’s otters.

“Hopefully the action plan will address some of the issues,” Thapa told Mongabay.

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This article was originally published by Mongabay.

Header image by Mathias Appel via Flickr