Oriental Small-Clawed Otters

The National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra, Australia, has three Oriental Small-Clawed Otters (Aonyx cinerea). The two males are called Sleepy and Grumpy, while the female is called Patty.

The Oriental Small-Clawed Otters are the smallest otters in the world, weighing less than five kilograms. They are found in mangrove swamps and the freshwaters of Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, southern China, Taiwan, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. However, the Oriental Small-Clawed Otter has been classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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