The world's rarest otter photographed in Borneo

Hairy-nosed otter caught on camera trap in Sabah. Credit ConCasa

July 2010. A hairy-nosed otter has been caught on a camera trap in the Deramakot Forest Reserve in Sabah. The hairy-nosed otter has not been recorded in the state of Sabah for over 100 years, and not in Borneo since one was killed by a car in 1997. The otter is also known from a very few locations outside of Borneo.

The camera trap photographed 3 different otter species and at first the scientists didn't realise that they had recorded a hairy-nosed otter (Lutra sumatrana). They also had images of a smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and an Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus).

The hairy-nosed otter has a flatter, longer head, a white throat and darker fur than its two relatives.

Camera trap
The otter was recorded by an automated camera trap in Deramakot and the surrounding forest reserves as part of the Conservation of Carnivores in Sabah (ConCaSa) project.

Very elsuive
The otter has been known to live in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, but the records of its existence in these places are patchy, depending on a few sightings, road kill and skins. Few hairy-nosed otters are thought to survive in the wild, with the species listed as endangered by the IUCN.

It is a medium-sized otter, around 1.3m in length and weighing around 7kg. The paws are fully webbed with well-developed claws.

The Conservation of Carnivores in Sabah (ConCaSa) project is run by by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in collaboration with the Sabah Wildlife Department and Sabah Forestry Department.

Details have been published in the journal Small Carnivore Conservation, a publication of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission.