BENGALURU: The curious case of the lone otter continues to fox researchers at India’s premier institution Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, five years after it made its appearance. The why and how of the Smooth-Coated Otter’s journey to the campus and its survival, remains a mystery.
The otter was first sighted around five years ago at the Centenary Pond on the campus. It was sighted occasionally, and had vanished temporarily, but has again popped up. Researchers on campus are baffled as to how it came into the water body, and assert that no one introduced it. Also, this is only the second water body in Bengaluru where the Smooth-Coated Otter has been found, the other being Hessarghatta Lake.
Some researchers contemplate that it may have swum in from Sankey Tank, as the two water bodies are connected by an underground drain. Others question how it even came into Sankey Tank, because the last time otters were sighted there was around 15 years ago. Yet others wonder if it could have come from the Arkavathi-Vrishabhavathi valley, but how it survived the polluted water bodies is another question altogether.
TV Ramachandra of the Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, said: “No one knows how it came. It is still a puzzle and we have thought of all angles. It could have come through the drains, but the high levels of pollutants and toxins cannot be ruled out. The Centenary Pond at IISc is rainwater-fed and was created in 2009.”
The otter has also caught the attention of the Karnataka forest department. Chief Conservator of Forests S S Lingaraja said there is no otter in Bengaluru’s lakes as most of them have lost their connectivity, and the channels are also not well-maintained. Its sighting at IISc has raised a lot of curiosity and will be assessed in detail, he said..