The National Red List Project

NRLD - 327607 | Lutra lutra

Assessment ID
327607
Taxon name
Lutra lutra
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Lutra lutra
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s)
Eurasian Otter, European Otter, European River Otter, Old World Otter, Common Otter, Uudbiral, Uud, Vodor, Dhaira
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
chordata
Class
mammalia
Order
carnivora
Family
mustelidae
Genus
Lutra
Species
lutra
Species authority
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Viverra lutra Linnaeus, 1758; Lutra vulgaris Erxleben, 1777; Lutra nair Cuvier, 1823; Lutra rudipes Melchior, 1834; Lutra roensis Ogilby, 1834; Lutra indica Gray, 1837; Lutra nippon Imaizumi & Yoshiyuki, 1989
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
Bangladesh
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
Bangladesh
Country ISO code(s)
BGD
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Critically Endangered
Abbreviated status
CR
Criteria system used
IUCN

(see Assessment details)

Assessment rationale/justification
The species is known to occur in wetland habitats of Greater Sylhet and Greater Mymensingh (IUCN Bangladesh 2003, Asmat 2009) but there is no recent sighting. Once it was widespread in Bangladesh (Asmat 2009, Khan 2015) but its population has been reduced rapidly, which is still going on. Many of its former habitats have been dried out or converted, causing the decline of its Extent of Occurrence. Thus, the species is listed as Critically Endangered.
Assessment details
Year assessed
2015
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
M. Monirul H. Khan
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN (2012) IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. Second edition. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iv + 32pp; IUCN (2012) Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
http://iucnredlistbd.org/
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
No
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
It is native from Ireland in Western Europe to the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Asia, and from Arctic to the southern shores of the Mediterranean (Roos et al. 2015). The species is known to occur in wetland habitats of Greater Sylhet and Greater Mymensingh (Asmat 2009, Feeroz et al. 2011, IUCN Bangladesh 2000, Khan 2015).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes, in the publication/on website
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Terrestrial
Not_assigned
Freshwater
Not_assigned
Marine
Not_assigned
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
It occurs in a wide variety of aquatic habitats including rivers, streams, lakes, swamps, marshes, rice-fields, swamp forests and coastal wetlands. It is active at night and spends the day roosting in a burrow or a hollow of tree. It catches the prey by mouth several times a day. Feeds mainly on fish and crustaceans, but also on small mammals, birds, bird eggs, insects, worms and even vegetation. Consumes about one kilogram of food daily. Mates in water or on land and breeds year-round. Female lays 1-4 cubs after a gestation period of about 63 days. Female mainly takes care of young for one year until the young becomes sub-adult (Grzimek 1990, Asmat 2009).
History
Critically Endangered in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh 2000).
Publication
Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals
IUCN Bangladesh. 2015. Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. xvi+232