Smooth-coated otter struck in fishing net dies in Nalgonda
Nalgonda: An endangered mammal species, smooth-coated otter was found dead on Friday morning in a net laid by fishermen in Chinna Cheruvu of Thummada in Nidmanoor mandala of Nalgonda district. It was listed as an endangered animal by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
According to fishermen, they have spotted five to eight smooth-coated otters in Chinna Cheruvu. The incident came to light when the photo of the otter went viral in a social media group related to Thummadam village. It was black in color.
Earlier, the otter was also spotted at Udhaya Samudram at Panagal and at Gundlapally in Nalgonda district. Smooth-coated otters are fish-eating mammals and generally live in river waters.
Forest officials were expecting that the mammals might have reached village tanks as the irrigation tanks in the district were filled with the waters of river Krishna. There was also a misconception in the fishermen that group of smooth-coated otter would attack the people and injure them.
Speaking to Telangana Today, Wild Life Researcher Dr Rachamalla Shyam Sunder said that smooth-coated otter would be generally spotted in rivers of Godavari and Krishna. Rivers were habitats of smooth-coated otters, but they would migrate to other habitats like reservoirs or irrigation projects. They would live in a group of four to 10 animals. They would also come onto the land to consume grains and reptiles. smooth-coated otter seems to weigh five kilograms. He opined that there was a need to take measures to protect smooth-coated otter for ecological balance.
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