Today we join in the global celebrations to raise awareness about the 13 different otter species around the world.
While there actually 3 species of otters native to China (Asian small-clawed otter, Smooth-coated otter, and Eurasian otter), only Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is present in Hong Kong.
Eurasian otter recorded at ~11pm
Eurasian otter recorded at ~6am
Recently the HK Otters Group was lucky to receive generous support from Masarang HK in the form of 3 gorgeous, new infra-red camera kits. These cameras are specially designed to automatically take photos of an animal when it passes in front of the camera (day or night).
The cameras have been out in the field for almost 3 months now and have been set up in areas where we’ve recorded otters before so that we can monitor their visits. In these locations we often record other wildlife as well! In the last few months we’ve recorded a number of different mammal species including Mongoose, Small Indian Civet (see photo), Leopard Cat (see photo), various native rodent species, and a range of bird species (see photo)
Small Indian Civet recorded at ~3am
Leopard Cat recorded at ~4am
As the otter population in Hong Kong is now rare, it can be a challenge to capture otter images, but this time we have been lucky!
World Otter Day and the lovely images we’ve captured on the Masarang HK cameras provides a great reminder of how important the wetland area is for supporting our amazing otters and other wildlife. These wetland areas need our protection from development, disturbance, and pollution to ensure our otter population can survive into the future.
Pond heron recorded at ~3pm
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