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INDIAN SMOOTH-COATED OTTER Lutrogale perspicillata
Identification This species is very similar to the Eurasian Otter (Lutra
lutra), except that its tail is strongly dorso-ventrally flattened.
Size Shoulder height 30 cm.
Weight 7–11 kg.
Habitat and Behaviour The Indian Smooth-coated Otter favours
flatland waters and commonly enters the sea. It is also said to hunt on
land, sometimes quite far from water.
Distribution and Status In the region the Indian Smooth-coated
Otter is only known from the lower Tigris River and especially
the marshes near its mouth. The Iraqi marshes have been largely
destroyed, so if this species survives it will probably only do so in the
marsh area that spills into Khuzestan in south-west Iran. This is an
apparently isolated population – the species is otherwise known only
from eastern Pakistan to South-East Asia.