1 week Ago
Pune: A rescue operation conducted by the forest department and RESQ Charitable Trust revealed a rare Eurasian Otter in Indapur — a species previously unrecorded in this area. The rescue was initiated following an urgent call about a civet reportedly trapped in a deep well. A closer inspection led to an entirely unexpected discovery.
Upon arrival, local forest guards Milind Shinde, Anant Hukire, Shubham Kadu and Shubham Dhaitonde, along with RESQCT team members Nachiket Awadhani, Prashant Kaulkar and Dr Shreekanth Deshmukh, assessed the situation and devised a rescue plan. Employing an auto-trap cage, they patiently waited in silence for nearly six hours until the otter, unable to escape on its own, entered the cage. Once safely retrieved, the otter was transferred to the RESQ ambulance and rushed to the Wildlife Transit Treatment Centre in Bavdhan, Pune, for immediate veterinary assessment, reaching the facility by midnight on Sunday.
This sighting is a milestone for the district, marking the first recorded presence of the Eurasian Otter in Pune. "This is an unprecedented sighting for the district. While smooth-coated otters were historically recorded decades ago, no Eurasian Otters have ever been documented here until now," said Mahadev Mohite, IFS, deputy conservator of forests, Pune (territorial).
He added, "We have deployed our teams as well as the RESQCT team to survey the areas in Indapur to trace the possible origin of this individual, which will be essential in planning its future." Neha Panchamiya, founder-president of RESQCT, shared insights on the otter's care and rehabilitation progress, saying, "The otter is a male sub-adult, currently housed in a secure enclosure equipped with a water body and ample hides to create a natural and comfortable habitat. We are monitoring him 24x7 with remote vision cameras and he was observed to be active at night, feeding well and showing no visible signs of any major injury.
A comprehensive medical assessment will be conducted after he has time to acclimate, ensuring no underlying health conditions." The Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) is one of the three otter species found in India, alongside the Smooth-coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and the Small-clawed Otter (Aonyx cinereus). While primarily found in Europe and parts of Asia, its presence in India is rare, mainly confined to the Himalayan foothills, parts of Northeast India and scattered sightings in the Western Ghats.
Eurasian Otters prefer clean, freshwater habitats, such as rivers, lakes and marshes with abundant fish, their primary diet. They are solitary, primarily nocturnal creatures that are highly sensitive to water pollution and habitat disturbance. Unlike the more common Smooth-coated Otter, Eurasian Otters are elusive and rarely seen in the wild, even in regions where they are known to inhabit.
As apex predators in river ecosystems, otters help regulate fish populations and maintain ecological balance..
