World Wildlife Day丨This kind of animal, which is often used as an emoticon, is actually rare

There is an animal that, with its harmless appearance, can easily display a variety of expressions - shock, shyness, covering the face, acting cute with its hands holding the face... The emoticons related to it have even conquered the human world.

However, upon closer inspection, it was found that although they look "cute", they are actually extremely lethal and are top predators in the food chain.

As expected, the most advanced hunters often appear in the form of "prey"... Do you know what the name of this extremely deceptive-looking animal is?

Ding ding ding ding! The answer is revealed↓↓↓This animal is called " otter ". Did you guess it right?

So here comes the question again...

How do you pronounce the “otter” in otter?

The correct answer is ↓↓↓

In addition, there are records of otter behavior in "Book of Rites" in 50 BC and "Bi Ya" in 1050 AD, and records of otter fisheries can also be found in "Chaoye Qianzai" in 700 AD, which shows that otters were a relatively common animal in ancient China.

But in modern times, due to the continuous expansion of human activities, it seems that it is increasingly difficult for us to see this "ancient" animal in our daily lives. What is the current distribution of otters in my country and even around the world? What misunderstandings do we humans have about them?

01/How are otters distributed in the world?

Otters are quite flexible and can adapt to a variety of environments. For example, the Eurasian otter is very widely distributed, from the Russian Far East to the United Kingdom in the west, from the Arctic Circle to Southeast Asia, and even in Malaysia.

It can be found along the coast, in rivers, lakes and streams, but because of the great human impact, its numbers have declined severely in the last century.

02/What is the distribution of otters in our country?

There are three species of otters in our country, including the Eurasian otter, the Asian small-clawed otter, and the smooth-coated otter.

The Eurasian otter is widely distributed. It is found in most parts of the central and southern parts of our country, as well as in the northeast, including a small area in the northernmost part of Xinjiang.

The small-clawed otter is mainly distributed in several southern provinces, including Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Hainan.

As for the smooth-coated otter, it is only distributed in the western and southern borders of Yunnan.

Of course, this is only a rough distribution. In fact, the number of confirmed otter distribution points is much smaller. For example, there has been no definite distribution record of the smooth-coated otter since 2006.

03/What misunderstandings do humans have about otters?

Otters are a second-class protected animal in our country. Because of their relatively small number, it is not easy to see them in the wild.

You can see a lot of videos, pictures, and emoticons of it on the Internet, and you will think it is so cute and want to keep it. Otters are cute, but they are also very fierce.

It eats all kinds of fish, big and small, water birds, aquatic mammals, frogs, and toads. So in freshwater, it is actually a top predator, a beast, not a cat or dog that has been domesticated for thousands of years, and is not suitable to be kept as a pet.

04/What role do otters play in the ecological environment?

Because otters eat everything, they occupy the top of the food chain in the entire freshwater ecosystem.

Adult otters have almost no natural enemies in fresh water. They are top predators, just like tigers and leopards in the forest.

Through the trophic cascade effect, it affects the species in the lower layers and plays a regulatory role. Because otters can maintain the stability of the food web and thus the balance of the entire ecosystem, they are a so-called health indicator and a flagship species for protection for freshwater ecosystems, playing a very important role.

05/What are the difficulties in protecting otters?

In my country, basic research on otters is relatively lacking, and we lack some key information, such as where they are, how many there are, what they eat, and what kind of habitats they prefer. Such information can actually be used to guide better otter protection.

Zhang Lu, Associate Professor, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University