Understanding the
otters of Borneo
TEXT BY ANNABEL PIANZIN & ANNA WONG
ADORABLE YET energetic, otters
are one of the many lovable animals
in the world, famous for their cute and
fluffy appearance. Yet, they are not a
well-known species when it comes to
wildlife conservation, owing to the lack
of scientific research. In Sabah, few
studies on this carnivorous mammal
have been made since the 1980s, despite
the fact that they play an important role
within the freshwater ecosystem.
Out of the 13 species of otters found
worldwide, four are residents of
Borneo – Asian small-clawed otter
(Aonyx cinereus), hairy-nosed otter
(Lutra sumatrana), smooth-coated otter
(Lutrogale perspicillata) and Eurasian
otter (Lutra lutra). All species are rapidly
declining due to numerous pressures,
22 • Malaysian Naturalist
including the loss of habitat due to human
destruction, illegal poaching (wildlife trade
and product) and pollution.
Under the IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species, the Asian small-clawed otter
is listed as Vulnerable; the hairy-nosed,
Endangered; smooth-coated, Vulnerable;
and Eurasian otter, Near Threatened. Below:
Smooth-coated otters
The hairy-nosed otter is the rarest of the (Credit: Yeap Chin Aik)
otter species and also the least known,
Opposite page
not found anywhere in the world except Top to bottom:
for Southeast Asia. Altered habitats, such
as oil palm reserve and
logged forest reserve
Until recently, both the hairy-nosed and were found to have the
most number of otter
Eurasian otters were thought to be extinct signs owing to their
shoreline vegetation and
in the state, but they have since been low canopy cover
rediscovered. The hairy-nosed otter was
Signs of otters include
found in the Deramakot Forest Reserve in their footprints and scat
2010 (Conservation of Carnivores in Sabah (Credit: Annabel Pianzin)
project) and Tabin Wildlife Reserve in
2016 (Ishigami et al., 2017), while the
mysterious Eurasian otter (that lived only
as specimens in a Kuching museum) was
sighted in 2014 by a visitor to the Danum
Valley Conservation Area (Phillips & Phillips,
2016). This gives us hope that it is still
possible to take conservation action to
ensure they thrive in their environment.

Otters play an important role in the

aquatic ecosystem as they are one of the
top predators and a vital species to the
wetland environment. Otters are highly
sensitive to degradation down the food
chain, as they require clean water and an
abundance of prey species, such as fish,
shrimp and crab, to survive.

Endorsed as “Wetland Ambassadors” to

encourage the conservation of freshwater
habitats, otters also serve as a valuable
symbol for environmental quality, as they
utilise both land and water habitats. As any
pollutants that enter the food chain become
more concentrated as it goes up, otters
are among the first species to vanish in a
polluted watershed. Their disappearance
may be due to contamination, loss of
prey from habitat destruction or habitat
fragmentation along the waterways.

Habitat destruction is causing all but one

species of otter to deteriorate. Forest cover
change due to the value of timber and
forest yield, as well as growth in agriculture,
especially oil palm, are the main contributors
to habitat destruction. In Southeast Asia,
Malaysia and Indonesia are the largest
producers of oil palm, but both are also the
largest holders of residual primary forests.
Due to most intact forests being converted
to oil palm estates on a daily basis, it is
important to maintain forest fragments
and riparian vegetation areas within these
estates to best preserve its biodiversity and
ecological functions to support important
species such as otters. Healthy river
systems and riparian reserves all around
their range is needed for their survival and
the prey species that they feed on.

One out of the four recent studies on

otters (done by the authors and two others)
was conducted under the SAFE Project in
Kalabakan, Sabah, an area which has been
gazetted for conversion to plantation in the
last 20 years. SAFE, short for Stability of
Altered Forest Ecosystems, is one of the
largest ecological experiments in the world

December 2018-February 2019 • 23

to study the effect of human
disturbance via forest cover
change towards biodiversity
and ecosystem functions.
This research centres on
investigating the distribution
and occupancy of otters in
different habitat treatments:
Old growth reserve
(designated as OGR), logged
forest reserve (OGR), riparian
reserves within oil palm (RR)
and oil palm reserves (OPR).
The objectives of this
research are:
• To determine species
and distribution of otters
occurring across human
modified landscapes
through visual signs survey.
• To investigate the
characteristics of riparian reserves that are
highly correlated to the presence of otters
across the landscape.
• To identify the occupancy of otter species
in different habitat types.
The main research question is, “Do
human-modified landscapes contain
critical physical habitat attributes to
support population of otters?”
Eighteen rivers were surveyed to gather
distribution and occupancy information on
otters – two in OGR, six in LGR, eight in RR
and two in OPR – via two methods, visual
signs survey (signs of otters documented
within two 500m walking transect) and
habitat characterisation (physical habitat
variables recorded at every 100m stream
segment within the 500m transect).
Preliminary results are that two species –
small-clawed and smooth-coated otters
– have been found within and surrounding
the study area. Sixteen out of 18 streams
contained otter signs and of these, 10
were found to be occupied by both
species. The habitat containing the most
otter signs was RR for both species,
followed by LFR.
From the occupancy model analysis,
altered habitats (LFR, RR and OPR) were
found to have the most number of otter
signs due to several characteristics they
possess: shoreline vegetation (for shelter
and protection) and low canopy cover (for
grooming). OPR may serve as a corridor to
travel between RRs.
24 • Malaysian Naturalist
The results show that altered habitats are Hide and seek
(Credit: Yeap Chin Aik)
still able to support populations of otters.
Most signs were found in LFR and RR, as
otters are able to tolerate some degree
of human disturbance as long as there is
adequate food and shelter. Signs were
concentrated in these habitat types, as
otters are confined to fragmented forests
and riparian reserves, compared to OGR
where forests are continuous and extensive,
resulting in a wider area of travel.
Despite this being an initial study, the
results are encouraging, proving that
otters depend on altered habitats,
since these possess critical habitat
References
characteristics needed for their survival. Wilting, A., Samejima, H.
The authors posit that further research and Mohamed, A., 2010.
Diversity of Bornean
needs to be carried out to save these cute viverrids and other small
mammals from disappearing completely carnivores in Deramakot
from our waterways, as their habitats Forest Reserve,
Sabah, Malaysia. Small
are in great danger, primarily by oil palm Carnivore Conservation,
cultivation. Conservation organisations, Vol. 42, June 2010.
stakeholders and oil palm entities need to Ishigami, J., Ambu,
work together to create more “eco-friendly” L. N., Tuuga, A. and
plantations, with maintaining residual Tsubouchi, T., 2017. The
Second Recent Record
continuous forests a top priority for the of Hairy-Nosed Otter
protection of wildlife. (Lutra sumatrana) in
Sabah, Malaysia. IUCN
Otter Spec. Group Bull.
Annabel Pianzin is a Master’s student 34 (2): 67 - 72
and Anna Wong is Project Supervisor/
3) Phillipps, Q. and
Lecturer, Institute for Tropical Biology Phillipps, K., 2016.
and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Phillipps’ Field Guide to
Sabah. The study titled “Investigating the the Mammals of Borneo
and Their Ecology:
Distribution and Occupancy of Otter Species Sabah, Sarawak,
across Human Modified Landscapes in Brunei, and Kalimantan.
Princeton University
SAFE Project, Kalabakan, Sabah” started in Press. Princeton and
September 2016 and is ongoing. Oxford. 400pp