General Information  

size: 106-130 cm (body 65-79 cm; tail 40-50 cm) weight: 7-10 kg

The Smooth-coated Otter, the largest and heaviest otter species found in India, forms large, vocal family groups with the core family unit consisting of an adult female, her offspring, the father, and sometimes older siblings. Group sizes fluctuate throughout the year, with the largest groups typically forming during the monsoon season. They hunt together for a variety of prey, including fish, shrimps, frogs, crabs, insects, and birds. These otters require dense riverside vegetation to hide, dig dens, and raise their cubs. Characterized by their greyish-brown fur, small eyes and ears, flattened tail, and short, strong limbs with large, well-webbed paws, they are well-adapted to life in water. Often considered fish specialists, they primarily forage in the water, swallowing small fish whole, while larger fish are taken to the shore. Males are polygamous, mating with up to four females. Females typically dig their own breeding dens and maintain small family groups, consisting of a mated pair and up to four offspring. Rocky areas near water bodies are their preferred sites for resting and making dens.

Threats
- Habitat degradation and loss due to increasing anthropogenic pressure on wetlands and waterways.
- Dangers from poachers for their dense fur, considered the "diamond" of the animal fur market.
- Construction of largescale hydroelectric projects, conversion of wetlands for settlements and agriculture, reduction in prey biomass, poaching and contamination of waterways by pesticides.
- Few nomadic hunting tribes eat otter flesh.
- Reductions in prey biomass (fish stocks).