Eurasian otters, which had not been seen in Macau for more than a decade, seem to have reappeared, as evidenced by their droppings and footprints that have been found by local eco-enthusiasts who are members of the “Chief of Macau Ecology” group since September last year along city’s coastline.
“Chief of Macau Ecology”, a Facebook page created by two local environmental protection activists, have recently posted that “since September last year, we have found a total of 20 faecal samples and a footprint record of a Eurasian otter along the coastline of Macau,” adding that it had been more than 10 years since the last well-documented record of Eurasian otters in Macau.
According to Tuesday’s post, the “Chief of Macau Ecology” group members discovered the first suspected otter droppings in early September, which were then identified by an otter specialist group as belonging to the local native species, the Eurasian otter. It added that through monitoring and investigations at the site, “We found a total of 20 otter dropping samples and a precious footprint record in the coastal habitats of Macau in the past four months,” proving that some of the city’s natural coastal habitats were still “important” foraging and resting sites for Eurasian otters.
The page stated that the Eurasian otter belongs to the genus Otter of the Weasel family of the order Carnivora, which is the most widely distributed otter species in the world, and is one of the three species of otter in China. It belongs to the second level of the national wildlife protection, and is rated as Endangered (EN) in the Red List of China’s Biodiversity: Vertebrates. The post highlighted the fact that Eurasian otters used to be found almost everywhere in China, the population of which, however, declined “precipitously” due to the massive hunting and killing of the animals for the fur trade in the 1950s-80s and the loss of their habitat.
“Our ecologists also thought that Eurasian otters were extinct in Macau,” said one of the posts, which noted that with the increased emphasis on ecological conservation in the nation in recent years, an ecological survey in Zhuhai has confirmed the existence of a relatively stable population of Eurasian otters in the neighbouring islands of Hengqin and Qi’ao, which are connected to Macau’s coastal waters.
The “Chief of Macau Ecology” group said they believed that the possibility of rediscovering the otters in Macau “is not zero”, explaining that otters are generally considered to be highly adaptable, with their activity areas probably quite close to those of humans, while their nocturnal habits are staggered with the time of human activities.
Encouraging the creation of a more suitable ecological environment for the local and neighbouring Eurasian otter populations, as well as in order to enhance the biodiversity of Macau’s coastline and wetlands, the eco-enthusiasts suggested that Macau’s ecology-related entities take the initiative to carry out scientific habitat management and environmental monitoring of the otter habitats, such as natural coastlines, beaches, mudflats and mangroves, as well as to tackle the factors affecting otters and their habitats, such as marine garbage, and sewage discharge, by taking concrete actions.
This undated file photo shows a Eurasian otter. – Photo: Wikipedia
This undated file photo taken by the “Chief of Macau Ecology” Facebook group shows footprints of a Eurasian otter discovered along Macau’s coastline.
