Size: This is the smallest of the world’s 18 otter species, measuring about 0.9m long and weighing around 5kg.

Habitat and Distribution: Small-clawed Otters prefer shallow water, with a good food supply and moderate to low bank-side vegetation. They are found in a wide range of climates from tropical, coastal wetlands through to mountain streams.
They are currently found from the Himalayan foothills of Himachal Pradesh eastward throughout south Asia, extending up to the Philippines and down through Indonesia.

Age: Life expectancy is 12 to14 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity.

Groups and Breeding: They are the most truly social otter species, living in extended family groups around a breeding alpha pair. Group sizes of more than 20 animals have been recorded.
They mate at around 2 years old and have a gestation of around 63 days with the average litter size being 4 or 5 pups. Both parents stay together after breeding and help raise the litter of the pups.

Diet: They feed on fish, frogs, crabs, crayfish and shellfish but prefer molluscs and crustaceans.

• These otters are extremely manually dextrous as they have very short claws (hence the name!), using their forepaws to feel for molluscs and crustaceans in rocks, vegetation and mud.
• The stiff whiskers, or vibrissae, around the nose and mouth of the otter are highly sensitive to water turbulence and help to locate prey in murky waters.
• Otters have two layers of fur consisting of a thick, coarse, waterproof outer coat and an insulating, warm inner layer made up of much finer, softer fur. Otter's milk is extremely rich (six times more fat than cow's milk).
• In some parts of Asia, people train otters to help them catch small fish.
• To keep their body at a constant temperature, otters maintain their metabolism by eating the equivalent of 25 per cent of their body weight every day.