Otters

This book essays to epitomise in part the experiences of a lifetime devoted to the direct study of nature in her wilder aspects or, perhaps better expressed, in her wildest forms. The author's main objective has consistently lain in the direction of understanding those reclusive types of creation which most bitterly resent human intrusion on their privacy, or those whose remote and inhospitable haunts are ever the least congenial in our comfort-loving age.

This study is focused on four otter species in Asia; the Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra, the Hairy-nosed Otter Lutra sumatrana, the Small-clawed Otter Aonyx cinereus and the Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata. The illegal wildlife trade poses a direct threat to all four species as they are popular for their fur and increasingly for their supposed qualities as pets. This study is an analysis of otter seizure data during the period 1980 to July 2015 inclusive.