BALLARI: They frolic around in the water, or chomp away on a fish’s head. What they do is silently follow the fishermen in the river and steal the fish from their nets.These are tiny creatures bobbing in and out of the Tungabhadra river. They need water for fishing and spend most of the time basking in the sun on the banks in groups or swimming, Otters, which have been accorded the protected status at Hospet’s Tungabhadra river just a couple of years ago, are now facing a severe threat. The excessive weeds in the shallow river have left them without food.
But, wait. The forest authorities are taking up measures to save this protected animal. Santosh Kumar, Conservator of Forests, Ballari district, has said that he will talk to the irrigation department to release water from the Tungabhadra dam to save the endangered otters in the Tungabhadra patch, which has been declared an Otter Conservation Reserve. Speaking to The New Indian Express, he said that otter being a significant and an endangered species, the department has accorded a protected species status by declaring a patch of the river as conservation reserve.
“The purpose will not be served if the otters are in peril. I will.take up the matter with the officers concerned in the department to ensure water is released.” He also promised to oversee the monitoring of the reseve to protect the otters. The State Forest Department in 2015 declared a patch of river Tungabhadra as Otter Conservation Reserve.
The wildlife enthusiasts were thrilled that the rare endangered aquatic mammal will now be protected from poaching and other threats. Two years later, now, the same activists are a worried lot as the otters are losing their ground. They are deprived of fish-- their favourite food. The water hyacinth which has taken over most of their habitat is depriving them of their food. “It is not just poaching that is threatening the existence of these aquatic animals but also the overgrown hyacinth in the river, which is killing them,” says K S Abdul Samad, whose organization Society for Wildlife and Nature (SWaN) was instrumental in ensuring the conservation status to this rare aquatic animal. “The unchecked water algae has resulted in fish famine almost rendering the otters hungry.
They are almost dying due to starvation,” he added. Smooth-coated Otter or Indian Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata is considered as largest among Asian otters. This riparian mammal which is protected under the Indian (Wi l d l i f e ) Protection Act 1972 has also been declared a vulnerable species by International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Following the efforts of SWaN, the state forest department declared 34 km of the river stretch from Holey Mudlapura to Kampli as a ‘Conservation Reserve.’ It is now identified as “Tungabhadra Otter Conservation Reserve”.
“But since the river Tungabhadra has been oversilted and engulfed with alien weeds, they have been deprived of their natural food,” said Samad. “The weed will vanish if the water is released from the dam,” said Ballari-based farmer leader Darur Purushottam Gouda.
About The Asian Otter
There are 13 species of otters in the world and five species in Asia. The Asian otter is strong and sturdy, with long, thick body, short legs, webbed feet with sharp claws, wide neck, round head, small round eyes, short ears, and short hairless muzzle with thick whiskers. Its fur is thick and velvety which has two layers, which help to keep the body warm. It has thick, long and conical tail which is more flattened at the end than other otters. Fore limbs are shorter than the hind limbs. Males are larger than females.
Need To Employ River Guards
Though the Otter Conservation Reserve has been declared two years ago, no substantial conservation activities have been taken up by the forest department till date. The experts have been advocating appointment of sufficient number of watchers along the river to protect the otters and other animals from poaching, hunting, prevent sand mining, use of dynamites for harvesting fish, pollution of the river and other problems.