An pressing name a few civet trapped in a deep effectively at Indapur in Pune district led to an sudden discovery of a uncommon Eurasian otter, a species beforehand unrecorded within the space. The rescue operation was carried out by the Maharashtra forest division and the RESQ Charitable Belief.
Forest guards Milind Shinde, Anant Hukire, Shubham Kadu, and Shubham Dhaitonde and RESQ Charitable Belief members Nachiket Awadhani, Prashant Kaulkar, and Dr Shreekanth Deshmukh had been concerned within the operation, in response to an announcement issued on Sunday.
Using an auto-trap cage, they patiently waited in silence for practically six hours till the otter, unable to flee on his personal, entered the cage. As soon as safely retrieved, the otter was transferred to the RESQ ambulance and rushed to the Wildlife Transit Remedy Centre in Bavdhan, Pune, for instant veterinary evaluation, reaching the centre by midnight.
“That is an unprecedented sighting for Pune district. Whereas smooth-coated otters had been traditionally recorded a long time in the past, no Eurasian otters have ever been documented right here till now,” mentioned Mahadev Mohite, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Pune (Territorial).
“We’ve deployed our groups in addition to RESQ CT group to survey the areas in Indapur to hint the attainable origin of this particular person, which will likely be important in planning his future,” he added.
Neha Panchamiya, founder and president of the RESQ Charitable Belief, shared insights on the otter’s care and rehabilitation. “The otter is a male, sub-adult, presently housed in a safe enclosure geared up with a waterbody and ample hides to create a pure and comfy habitat. We’re monitoring him 24/7 with distant imaginative and prescient cameras, and he has been noticed to be lively at evening, feeding effectively and displaying no seen indicators of any main damage. A complete medical evaluation will likely be carried out after he has had time to acclimate, making certain no underlying well being circumstances,” Panchamiya mentioned.
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is without doubt one of the three otter species present in India, alongside the smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and the small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus). Whereas primarily present in Europe and components of Asia, the otter is uncommon in India, primarily confined to the Himalayan foothills, components of the Northeast, and scattered sightings within the Western Ghats.
Eurasian otters choose clear, freshwater habitats, resembling rivers, lakes, and marshes with ample fish, their main weight loss plan. They’re solitary, primarily nocturnal creatures which are extremely delicate to water air pollution and habitat disturbance.
Not like the extra frequent smooth-coated otter, Eurasian otters are elusive and infrequently seen within the wild, even in areas the place they’re identified to inhabit. As apex predators in river ecosystems, otters assist regulate fish populations and preserve ecological stability.
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