Title
The Conservation Status Of Otters In Prek Toal Core Area, Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia
Author(s)
Willcox, Daniel;Visal, Sun;Mahood, Simon P.
Published
2016
Publisher
IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin
Abstract
The conservation status of otters in South-east Asia remains poorly known, because of a paucity of records for which certain identification can be confirmed. Otter populations in South-east Asia face a multitude of threats and are in decline; the identification and then protection of sites that support sizeable populations is a priority for their conservation. A rapid camera-trap survey targeted otter populations along one stream in Prek Toal Core Area, an area of flooded forest in the Tonle Sap Great Lake Cambodia. 172 camera-trap days over May to July 2014 produced a total of 34 notionally independent photographs of otters, of which 24 could be identified as Smooth-coated Otter and 4 as Hairy-nosed Otter. Although few other otter records exist for Cambodia, these data indicate that Prek Toal is at least a regionally important site for these species and of probable global significance for Hairy-nosed Otter. Protection of fish-breeding habitat and a large waterbird colony has perhaps benefitted the otter population at Prek Toal.
Keywords
camera-trap;Prek Toal;conservation priority;wetlands;fish
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