Smooth-coated Otter: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Otters and Weasels · day 5 of 7

Five facts

1. A family can hunt as a team, swimming in a wide V-shaped line across a creek. Scared fish leap from the water, then the otters dive and grab them.
2. In Singapore these otters are city dwellers. They sleep in gaps under buildings and use stairs and ladders to climb out of concrete canals.
3. In southern Bangladesh, fishermen raise and train these otters to chase fish into their nets. About 300 fishermen worked this way in 2011.
4. Its tail is flat, while other otters have rounder tails. It also has a bare nose shaped roughly like a diamond.
5. They live in groups of up to 11 and keep in touch with whistles, chirps and wails.

The quiz

1. What shape does a hunting group of these otters make?

• A tight circle
• A single-file line
• A spiral
• A wide V (correct)

They swim in a V-shaped line that makes fish jump ahead of them.

2. How do Singapore's otters get out of steep concrete canals?

• They wait for floods
• They use stairs and ladders (correct)
• People lift them out
• They dig through the walls

They have learned to use staircases and ladders in the city.

3. What do trained otters do for fishermen in Bangladesh?

• Chase fish into nets (correct)
• Pull the boats
• Guard the rice fields
• Carry messages between villages

They are trained to drive fish into fishing nets.

4. How is its tail different from other otters' tails?

• It is round like a rope
• It is bushy
• It is flattened (correct)
• It has a white tip

Its tail is flat, unlike the rounder tails of other otters.

5. Which sounds do smooth-coated otters use to communicate?

• Roars and growls
• Whistles, chirps and wails (correct)
• No sounds at all
• Only tail slaps on the water

They call to each other with whistles, chirps and wails.

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