Majjit Kaur and Zalinah Noordin The Star 20 Nov 10;
THE encroachment of wildlife into human space is one of the signs that rapid development is taking over the natural habitat of the animals, said Sabahat Alam Malaysia.
Its president S.M. Mohd Idris said the animals have no place to go when their natural habitat is cleared for development.
“There should thus be a balance between nature and development to ensure that both can be in harmony with one another, so that the natural habitat of wildlife is preserved,” he said.
Mohd Idris was commenting on a StarMetro report about a trapped otter found in a drain outside a shopping mall in Tanjung Tokong which was later rescued on Thursday.
He added that rapid development along the coastal areas could have caused the mangroves to be destroyed forcing the otter to forage further inland in search of food.
“Today there may be one otter found, who knows how many more will be found on land after this?
“Everyone wants to be rich and make a quick buck from development projects but often there is a disregard for nature and wildlife,” he said.
Taiping Zoo & Night Safari Director Dr Kevin Lazarus said otters normally moved around in groups.
He said if the otter that was found in the drain on Thursday was a male, then it could be possible that it had strayed too far from its original group.
“Male otters will normally move away from its original group once it is fully mature to form its own group,” he said.
He added that otters were not totally dependant on pristine forests and could easily live in places with streams and rivers as long as there was supply of fresh fish for them to feed on.
“It is not uncommon for otters to be found in mangroves and rivers and sometimes they could be found living nearby in those places in newly-built housing areas,” he said.
State Wildlife and National Parks Department director Jamalun Nasir Ibrahim said that the otter would be cared for by the department until it was in a better shape to be transferred to the Malacca Zoo.
“We’re not sure for how long it has been on land when it was rescued as it has lost a lot of energy so we are doing our best to take care of it and feeding it with fresh fish,” he said.
Jamalun said that the gender of the otter had not been determined yet.
“This is the second time an otter has been found on land since last year.
“It could be due to many reasons, one of them could possibly be because of its endangered natural habitat due to excessive development and the other could be that it was washed away by strong currents to the shore,” he said.
Malaysia Nature Society Penang branch chairman D. Kanda Kumar said not much was known about otters in Malaysia as no proper survey had been conducted on them.
“But if compared to 15 years ago, I would say that the population has dwindled.
“Hopefully with the river cleaning up campaign, we hope the population will grow further.
“If we can maintain more mangrove areas, then there is a possibility of seeing more otters,” he added.
He said that otters can still be found at mangrove areas in Tanjung Tokong and Teluk Bahang.
On the otter found trapped in a drain in Tanjung Tokong, Kanda Kumar said it could be due to high tide that the animal got stuck in the drain.
Wildlife and National Parks Department consultant director Burhanuddin Mohd Nor said smooth otters were found in areas with large water bodies such as reservoir and lakes while the small-clawed otters were confined to small rivers and streams.
Burhanuddin said otters in Malaysia prefer the bushy shrubs found in the rice fields or along river banks.
“Cavities found beneath tree roots along rivers and canals will also be utilised by otters as nests.
“Other types of habitat are the mangroves, freshwater swamp forest and peat swamp,” he said.
