e-Update No 3 March 2011
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Cikananga Otters move into New Enclosure
Nessie, Lenci and Merci, the three Asian short-clawed otters being cared for at
Cikananga Wildlife Rescue Centre, have now moved into their new enclosure,
which was built especially for them. We will shortly be putting the three otters
up for adoption to raise funds for their keep, so if you would like to help go to
www.ottershop.co.uk
Gift Aid Bonus Ends April.
Charities can claim back the UK tax paid on money donated, so if a basic taxpayer gives £1 the charity gets £1.28. The eagle-eyed amongst you will have
spotted that this is 3p more per £1 donated than the tax, as in 2008 when
income tax was cut, the government said that charities could keep the higher
amount until 5 April 2011.
If you're planning to donate please do it before 5 April so that we can claim
back more.
To make a donation please visit www.ottershop.co.uk
Holidays
There are still some places available
on our 2011 trips, so hurry and book
now!
Join us in May or September to learn
more about otters, their behaviour
and ecology on one of our Otter
Detective courses. Or enjoy a bit of
everything with an Otters, Wildlife &
Heritage of Skye & Raasay trip in
June or August. Full information can
be found at: http://www.otter.org
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www.otter.org
IOSF - e-Update no. 3 March 2011
Hospital
There have been quite a few changes in the last month at the sanctuary and
the greatest news of all is that Fyne is free. She had been doing a lot of
digging in her enclosure and was clearly desperate to be out and away.
February was very mild so we decided the time had come. She came back for
a short while for fish but now she seems to be totally independent. When she
first arrived we weren’t certain
that this would ever happen as
someone had tried to tame her
and she was very happy to
have her tummy tickled! But
within a couple of months her
wild side had emerged and we
have every confidence in her.
Good luck Fyne.
All the youngsters are outside in nursery pens. Luce and Dee are together
and our youngest, Oron, from Oronsay is in with Tweedie. We hope she will
make him a bit “feistier” as he is quite timid and we hope he will teach her to
like water!! She doesn’t seem keen and he can’t stay out of it!
And as for Bill, he is a total recluse! When he was first moved to the croft pen
he enjoyed his snug hay in the sleeping box but for the last couple of weeks he
has moved out. Now the
only signs that he is there
are the disappearing fish,
footprints and spraint. As
you can see from the
photo the pen is very
overgrown and there is so
much vegetation for him to
hide in!
Where’s Wally, alias Bill?!!
We are not putting Bill up for adoption – he is an old man who will simply live
out his days with us. But you can help to support him with a donation towards
his food bills at www.ottershop.co.uk or alternatively you can send a cheque
marked “Bill” on the back. Thanks.
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www.otter.org
IOSF - e-Update no. 3 March 2011
Otters and Crayfish
In the January e-Newsletter we told you about our new project to look at the
diet of freshwater otters throughout the UK. Our otters are facing problems
from the drastic decline in the eel population and also from the recent severe
winters.
Another factor affecting the diet of
otters is the spread of the
American signal crayfish
(Pacifastacus leniusculus), an
invasive non-native species which
is threatening our native white
clawed crayfish
(Austropotamobius pallipes). It is
also very destructive to the
environment as it digs burrows
causing river banks to collapse
and is a vigorous omnivore. Abby
Stancliffe-Vaughn is researching signal crayfish at Anglia Ruskin University
and she gave us some background information on this.
“Otters prey on crayfish throughout the year with crayfish activity (and
therefore dietary prevalence) at a peak during the summer months. Otters
make excellent surveyors - you know there is a thriving population of white
clawed crayfish when spraints are full of crayfish bits and there are claws all
over the place! Thankfully otters also consume signal crayfish in large
numbers. However, rivers with signal crayfish can be quite impoverished (as
they eat near enough everything and destroy the breeding areas for fish) so
don’t always have good populations of predators like otters. Signal crayfish
carry crayfish plague (Aphonmyces astaci) which doesn’t affect them but can
wipe out a native crayfish population very quickly. Crayfish plague is also
carried on damp equipment so care must be taken by anyone moving between
different water courses - this link to the Environment Agency website contains
some helpful advice http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/
recreation/fishing/38053.aspx “
American signal crayfish have reached as far north as the River Nairn near
Inverness and anglers
throughout the UK are worried
about the effect it will have on
fish stocks, while
conservationists are also
concerned about the overall
effect on the environment and
biodiversity. Signal crayfish
produce 2-300 eggs at a time
but the young are vulnerable and
may be eaten by many aquatic
species. So Abby’s studies are
looking into the effect of trapping
and removal of signal crayfish. If
her project reveals that otters are eating substantial numbers of adult crayfish
this may help to allay fishermen’s concerns about otters and the otters will also
be helping to conserve out riverine habitats.
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www.otter.org
IOSF - e-Update no. 3 March 2011
Water Developments Threaten Freshwater Species in the
Eastern Himalaya
Water developments are expanding so quickly that scientists are worried
that this could put freshwater ecosystems under threat. Pollution, habitat
destruction and the development of dams have had a serious impact
particularly on the lower reaches of the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and
there are extensive plans for further work.
A study by IUCN and the Zoo Outreach Organisation found that 31.3% of
the1,073 freshwater species of fishes, molluscs, dragonflies and damselflies
currently known in the Eastern Himalaya region are assessed as Data
Deficient. Of those species for which information is available, 7.2% are
classed as Threatened and a further 5.4% are considered to be Near
Threatened.
This is clearly a worry for the Asian otter species of the area, namely the
Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), Asian short-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus), and
smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata).
Smooth-coated otters
The areas identified as priority areas for conservation include parts of
eastern Nepal, India (including Sikkim, Assam and Manipur), and Myanmar.
There is an on-going community-based sustainable management project in
the Tanguar hoar wetlands which is a great example of conservation
success and it is hoped that this example can be followed elsewhere.
For more information go to
http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/?6754/Freshwater-species-at-risk-in-Eastern-Himalayadevelopment-surge
Furget-Me-Not
We recently had the following email from Ratanapich
in Cambodia:
“Dear Grace, I very much appreciate that you work very hard to do fundraising to support the otters in Phnom Tamao Zoological Park and Wildlife
Rescue Centre. I do understand that money is quite difficult to raise with the
global economic turndown. I thank you very much for your kind support and
for working hard. I will use very penny for the otters' care.
With best regards, Nhek Ratanapich”
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www.otter.org
IOSF - e-Update no. 3 March 2011
Otters at Phnom Tamao
If you would like to contribute towards the care of these otters you can do so at
www.ottershop.co.uk or send a cheque marked “Furget-Me-Not” on the back.
Many thanks.
We also heard from Annette Olsson, from Conservation International, who is
working on the ground in Cambodia largely at the Tonle Sap Lake:
“Hi Grace, Our otter work at Tonle Sap is going really well. We have started a
populations genetics survey of the two species and are collecting lots of spraint
samples from two survey sites and are having them analyzed by a new capacity
in Cambodia. Results should be ready by about June.
We have been working on a strategic plan/framework for the Tonle Sap
programme and this includes the development of alternative livelihoods.
Although we are still looking into the possibility of developing something based
on water hyacinths, there may be other activities that would be more straightforward and a higher priority for the local communities, such as improved aquaculture techniques and processes for marketing products such as smoked fish
and fish paste, which villagers are already involved in doing. Implementation of
these potential alternative livelihood projects would probably be linked to things
such as no hunting for otters and other wildlife, no fishing with certain harmful
methods etc.
We are still collecting spraint samples for the population genetics study of the
otters at Tonle Sap, and analysis have begun.”
Vietnam
We recently received the Newsletter from Education for Nature – Vietnam
(ENV) Wildlife Crime Unit. The Unit was established in 2005 “to facilitate and
motivate public involvement in efforts to combat wildlife trade, and to improve
the effectiveness of front line law enforcement agencies.”
They are working hard to enforce effective punishment for wildlife crime and cite
a number of examples where criminals have been given stiff prison sentences.
They say that if the law is enforced with such harsh penalties people can be
deterred from illegal acts.
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www.otter.org
IOSF - e-Update no. 3 March 2011
Two Asian short-clawed otters were rescued after being offered for sale on
the internet. Staff of the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme
alerted ENV and their Major Crimes Officer posed as a buyer to obtain
information to pass to the police. The police confiscated the animals and
they were transferred to the Cu Chi Rescue Center.
IOSF welcomes this stance by ENV and the authorities in Vietnam.
To learn more about their work and read the full Newsletter go to
http://www.envietnam.org
Product of the Month
Mother’s Day Adoption Gift Box
£32 at www.ottershop.co.uk
Better than a box of chocolates or a
bunch of flowers and it lasts a whole
year. An Otter Adoption Gift Box
makes the perfect, thoughtful Mother’s
Day gift. A packet of our Forget-menot seeds will also be included for your
mum.
Show you care.
You can make your purchases online at
www.ottershop.co.uk
International Otter Survival Fund
7 Black Park
Broadford
Isle of Skye
IV49 9DE
Scotland
Tel/Fax: ++1471 822 487
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www.otter.org
Join our IOSF mailing list click on this link
http://www.eepurl.com/bLTvv
www.otter.org
THE INTERNATIONAL OTTER
SURVIVAL FUND working to save the world's otters
IOSF - e-Update no. 3 March 2011