Caucasian otter: description, features and habitat. Photo of a river otter - description of a river otter What continent does the otter live on?

The otter belongs to the class of mammals of the order Carnivora of the Mustelidae family of the Otter subfamily. There are 17 species in the otter subfamily. The most famous species are: the European otter, the Canadian otter, the giant or Brazilian otter, and the American river otter.

Description of the otter

The otter is a fairly large animal in its family; its weight, depending on the species, can range from 5 to 30 kg. The body length of the animal is from 55 to 150 cm. The otter's tail is quite massive and can reach a length of 25 to 70 cm. The head is round and slightly flattened. The otter's fur is very dense and there are approximately 110-125 thousand hairs per 1 square centimeter of its body; due to this density, the animal's fur is practically not wetted. The coat color on the back is dark brown or brown, and on the belly and neck it is beige. The body is elongated and flexible with a streamlined body. The otter's paws are shortened with membranes between the toes.

Life of an otter in the wild

The otter is a semi-aquatic animal that is both diurnal and nocturnal. She spends most of her active time in the water in search of prey.

The otter's home is a hole, the entrance of which necessarily leads to water. In the hole, the otter only sleeps or feeds its babies.

The otter is a predator, and its main food is in the water. mainly fish, crabs, crayfish, beetles and other invertebrates. Sometimes the otter's menu even includes small birds, amphibians and mammals. Due to its intense metabolism, an otter needs to eat 15% of its body weight in food to survive. This is approximately 100 grams of fish per hour. This rapid metabolism is necessary to maintain the animal's normal body temperature in cold water.

Mating in otters does not have a specific period. Animals can mate at any time of the year. The mating period in most cases depends on climatic and environmental conditions. For example, the mating season of the European otter living in the northern part of Russia occurs in March or April. And the same European otter living in England gives birth all year round.

After mating, the fertilized egg sleeps; in order for the fetus to begin to develop, favorable external circumstances are needed. The egg can remain in a latent state for up to 270 days. The gestation period is 63 days.

Otter cubs are born helpless and blind, and only gain sight on the 35th day of life. In one litter, 2 or 4 babies are most often born, less often 1 or 5. The mother otter raises the cubs for more than a year. She teaches them different hunting techniques and ways to survive.

Otter, common otter, river otter or piston(lat. Lutra lutra) - a species of predatory mammals of the mustelid family, leading a semi-aquatic lifestyle; one of three species of the otter genus ( Lutra). In the literature, the word “otter” usually means this species.

Appearance

The otter is a large animal with an elongated, flexible, streamlined body. Body length - 55-95 cm, tail - 26-55 cm, weight - 6-10 kg. The paws are short, with webbed swimming. The tail is muscular, not fluffy.

Fur color: dark brown above, light, silver below. The guard hairs are coarse, but the underfur is very thick and delicate. The density of the fur coat can reach 51 thousand per 1 cm2. Such a high density of the undercoat makes the fur completely impermeable to water and perfectly insulates the animal’s body, protecting it from hypothermia. The otter's body structure is adapted for swimming underwater: flat head, short legs, long tail.

Spreading

The most common representative of the otter subfamily. It is found over a wide area, covering almost all of Europe (except the Netherlands and Switzerland), Asia (except the Arabian Peninsula) and North Africa. In Russia it is found everywhere, including in the Far North in the Magadan region, in Chukotka.

Lifestyle and nutrition

The otter leads a semi-aquatic lifestyle, swimming, diving and getting food in the water. An otter can remain underwater for up to 2 minutes.

It lives mainly in forest rivers rich in fish, less often in lakes and ponds. Found on the sea coast. It prefers rivers with whirlpools, with rapids that do not freeze in winter, with washed-out banks littered with windbreaks, where there are many reliable shelters and places for making burrows. Sometimes it makes its lairs in caves or, like a nest, in thickets near the water. The entrance holes of its burrows open under water.

The hunting grounds of one otter in summer comprise a section of the river ranging from 2 to 18 km long and about 100 m deep into the coastal zone. In winter, when fish stocks are depleted and wormwood freezes, it is forced to wander, sometimes directly crossing high watersheds. At the same time, the otter descends from the slopes, rolling down on its belly, leaving a characteristic trace in the form of a gutter. On ice and snow it travels up to 15-20 km per day.

The otter feeds mainly on fish (carp, pike, trout, roach, gobies), and prefers small fish. In winter it eats frogs, and quite regularly eats caddisfly larvae. In summer, in addition to fish, it catches water voles and other rodents; In some places it systematically hunts waders and ducks.

Social structure and reproduction

Otters are solitary animals. Mating, depending on climatic conditions, occurs in the spring (March - April), or almost all year round, as, for example, in England. Otters mate in the water. Pregnancy - with a latent period reaching up to 270 days; The gestation period itself is only 63 days. There are usually 2-4 blind cubs in a litter. Baby otters are called pups.

Sexual maturity in otters occurs in the second or third year of life.

Economic importance

In some areas of Bangladesh, otters are used as hunting animals - they drive fish into fishermen's nets (at the same time, adult individuals are kept on long leather leashes, and young animals swim freely - they still will not swim away from their parents).

Population status and conservation

Hunting and the use of pesticides in agriculture have reduced the number of otters. In 2000, the common otter was listed as a "vulnerable" species on the IUCN Red List.

The species is listed in the Red Book of the Sverdlovsk region, Saratov and Rostov regions.

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Notes

Links

• Wozencraft, W.C./ Wilson D. E. & Reeder D. M. (eds). - 3rd edition. - Johns Hopkins University Press, November 16, 2005. - ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC

Excerpt characterizing Otter

Natasha was 16 years old, and the year was 1809, the same year that four years ago she had counted on her fingers with Boris after she kissed him. Since then she has never seen Boris. In front of Sonya and with her mother, when the conversation turned to Boris, she spoke completely freely, as if it was a settled matter, that everything that happened before was childish, which was not worth talking about, and which had long been forgotten. But in the deepest depths of her soul, the question of whether the commitment to Boris was a joke or an important, binding promise tormented her.
Ever since Boris left Moscow for the army in 1805, he had not seen the Rostovs. He visited Moscow several times, passed near Otradny, but never visited the Rostovs.
It sometimes occurred to Natasha that he did not want to see her, and these guesses were confirmed by the sad tone in which the elders used to say about him:
“In this century they don’t remember old friends,” the countess said after the mention of Boris.
Anna Mikhailovna, who had been visiting the Rostovs less often lately, also behaved with particular dignity, and every time she spoke enthusiastically and gratefully about the merits of her son and about the brilliant career he was on. When the Rostovs arrived in St. Petersburg, Boris came to visit them.
He went to them not without excitement. The memory of Natasha was Boris's most poetic memory. But at the same time, he traveled with the firm intention of making it clear to both her and her family that the childhood relationship between him and Natasha could not be an obligation for either her or him. He had a brilliant position in society, thanks to his intimacy with Countess Bezukhova, a brilliant position in the service, thanks to the patronage of an important person, whose trust he fully enjoyed, and he had nascent plans to marry one of the richest brides in St. Petersburg, which could very easily come true . When Boris entered the Rostovs' living room, Natasha was in her room. Having learned about his arrival, she, flushed, almost ran into the living room, beaming with a more than affectionate smile.
Boris remembered that Natasha in a short dress, with black eyes shining from under her curls and with a desperate, childish laugh, whom he knew 4 years ago, and therefore, when a completely different Natasha entered, he was embarrassed, and his face expressed enthusiastic surprise. This expression on his face delighted Natasha.
- So, do you recognize your little friend as a naughty girl? - said the countess. Boris kissed Natasha's hand and said that he was surprised by the change that had taken place in her.
- How prettier you have become!
“Of course!” answered Natasha’s laughing eyes.
- Has dad gotten older? – she asked. Natasha sat down and, without entering into Boris’s conversation with the countess, silently examined her childhood fiancé down to the smallest detail. He felt the weight of this persistent, affectionate gaze on himself and occasionally glanced at her.
The uniform, the spurs, the tie, Boris’s hairstyle, all this was the most fashionable and comme il faut [quite decent]. Natasha noticed this now. He sat slightly sideways on an armchair next to the countess, straightening the cleanest, stained glove on his left with his right hand, spoke with a special, refined pursing of his lips about the amusements of the highest St. Petersburg society and with gentle mockery recalled former Moscow times and Moscow acquaintances. It was not by chance, as Natasha felt, that he mentioned, naming the highest aristocracy, about the envoy's ball, which he had attended, about the invitations to NN and SS.
Natasha sat silently the whole time, looking at him from under her brows. This look bothered and embarrassed Boris more and more. He looked back at Natasha more often and paused in his stories. He sat for no more than 10 minutes and stood up, bowing. The same curious, defiant and somewhat mocking eyes looked at him. After his first visit, Boris told himself that Natasha was just as attractive to him as before, but that he should not give in to this feeling, because marrying her, a girl with almost no fortune, would be the ruin of his career, and resuming a previous relationship without the goal of marriage would be an ignoble act. Boris decided with himself to avoid meeting with Natasha, but, despite this decision, he arrived a few days later and began to travel often and spend whole days with the Rostovs. It seemed to him that he needed to explain himself to Natasha, to tell her that everything old should be forgotten, that, despite everything... she could not be his wife, that he had no fortune, and she would never be given for him. But he still didn’t succeed and it was awkward to begin this explanation. Every day he became more and more confused. Natasha, as her mother and Sonya noted, seemed to be in love with Boris as before. She sang him his favorite songs, showed him her album, forced him to write in it, did not allow him to remember the old, making him understand how wonderful the new was; and every day he left in a fog, without saying what he intended to say, not knowing what he was doing and why he had come, and how it would end. Boris stopped visiting Helen, received reproachful notes from her every day, and still spent whole days with the Rostovs.

One evening, when the old countess, sighing and groaning, in a nightcap and blouse, without false curls, and with one poor tuft of hair protruding from under a white calico cap, was making prostrations for evening prayer on the rug, her door creaked, and Natasha ran in, shoes on her bare feet, also in a blouse and curlers. The Countess looked around and frowned. She finished reading her last prayer: “Will this coffin be my bed?” Her prayerful mood was destroyed. Natasha, red and animated, seeing her mother at prayer, suddenly stopped in her run, sat down and involuntarily stuck out her tongue, threatening herself. Noticing that her mother continued her prayer, she ran on tiptoe to the bed, quickly sliding one small foot over the other, kicked off her shoes and jumped onto the bed for which the countess was afraid that it might not be her coffin. This bed was tall, made of feather beds, with five ever-decreasing pillows. Natasha jumped up, sank into the feather bed, rolled over to the wall and began fiddling around under the blanket, laying down, bending her knees to her chin, kicking her legs and laughing barely audibly, now covering her head, now looking at her mother. The Countess finished her prayer and approached the bed with a stern face; but, seeing that Natasha had her head covered, she smiled her kind, weak smile.

Man became acquainted with the river otter quite a long time ago. It was very difficult not to notice this animal with the skills of a natural swimmer. The otter is of interest not only because of its practical and durable fur. This is a very friendly creature that can be kept in captivity without any problems. With proper upbringing, a river otter can be trained quite easily, as it is a fairly peaceful animal that is not inclined to show aggression towards humans.

Characteristic

Because the river otter spends most of its life in water, this was reflected in her behavior and habits.

• This animal belongs to the mustelid family, so it demonstrates the skills of a cunning hunter characteristic of its representatives.
• The food for this animal is fish, which is not difficult for an otter to catch.
• When moving on land, the animal's body looks slightly hunched over, but even this allows it to develop high running speed.
• If a person meets an otter on the ground, it will still be able to run away from him.
• The best place to build a home is in remote places where people rarely visit. Even though there will be little food in the place where they live, the otter will be more than happy with this, since this guarantees safety not only for him, but also for his offspring.
• This animal usually goes hunting in the morning and evening twilight. During strong winds and snowfalls, the otter prefers not to go outside and remains in its shelter for a long time.
• The otter is a very secretive and cautious animal that always looks around. It is very difficult to meet an otter in an open area on the shore. She also demonstrates secrecy when arranging her home, masking the exit from the water with spruce branches or creating it in places overgrown with bushes.
• The river otter is a fairly good-natured animal that loves to play. Therefore, if you decide to have it in your home, then you will not be bored.

Appearance

When someone mentions an otter, we usually associate it with something that has an unpleasant appearance. However, this animal does not correspond to this idea. She looks pretty attractive, having a very funny face that looks beautiful thanks to its long sideburns.

This animal highly valued for its wear-resistant and waterproof fur, which is an excellent material for making warm and beautiful fur coats.

Habitat

The otter can be found throughout Western Europe, as well as in Asia. She is also not a rare visitor near the southern border of Hindustan and China. The first representatives of this species were discovered in Greece, Spain, Great Britain and Switzerland, but quite soon their population disappeared, which was the result of active hunting for them. Experts, aware of the high risk of complete extinction of otters, are trying to create suitable housing for them on the lakes and reservoirs of these countries, but so far their attempts have not been particularly successful, and the otter is still on the list of endangered species.

This animal feels most comfortable on rivers with fast currents and rocky bottoms. She likes narrow rivers about 10-15 m.

Today, the river otter numbers about 90 thousand individuals, which is very small considering the area of ​​our planet.

Key Features

The otter differs from other representatives of the mustelid family in that it spends most of its time in water. Therefore, she chooses for herself habitats where there is a body of water. According to experts, it is very important for this animal to have a sufficient amount of food, for which it can walk tens of kilometers on land. She is not inclined to stay in one place for a long time. Only the presence of enough food can keep it going.

The otter differs from other animals in that it and in winter continues to be awake. Therefore, at this time of year it can be seen near ice-free areas of water. Thanks to the presence of the polynya, this animal can lead its normal lifestyle, breathe and walk on land after a successful hunt.

Nutrition

This animal is not picky about food, so it can feed on various types of fish. The main food for an otter is:

• carp;
• trout;
• pike;
• small roach;
• crucian carp.

When the otter finds itself on land, it hunts rodents, wading birds and frogs. She will also not refuse large beetles and mollusks.

In search of food, this animal can also look into a fish pit, where you can find many different species of fish. Easy prey for the otter are slow flocks, which it easily catches up with and, once in the thick of the small flocks, grabs the largest specimens.

The otter can also be interested in lone predator fish: in order to catch them, the otter sets up an ambush, from where it makes a lightning attack, as a result of which the victim does not have a single opportunity to escape. She uses similar tactics to hunt small rodents.

Reproduction

Animals used to living alone. Scientists do not have precise information about the periods in which they are usually disputed. Here it is necessary to take into account the climate of their habitat. In the temperate zone, these animals usually mate in March-April. But in Britain, as well as countries with warm climates, these animals can bear offspring all year round.

Usually the otter begins to breed at the age of 2-3 years. The duration of pregnancy is approximately 8 months, and this does not allow maintaining a high number of representatives of this species. The female can bring at one time no more than two to four cubs. In the first years, the offspring require special attention, since they need to be protected not only from enemies, but also from the vagaries of the weather.

During the period of bearing cubs, a mother otter demonstrates amazing care: she is ready to attack anyone if she suspects that someone wants to harm her babies. Due to their rapid growth, otter cubs stay with their mother for only a short time. Already upon reaching the age of one year, they are left by their mother and begin an independent life.

If you want to get an otter, we advise you not to do so. But if you are determined, you can try. But keep in mind that you must create suitable conditions for this animal: the presence of a deep reservoir with clean water is mandatory. You must also create conditions for the animal to walk along the shore.

Unlike other domestic animals, the otter defecates very frequently and loose stools, which emits an unpleasant odor. This is due to the fact that it eats fish. This is another reason to think about whether to have an otter at home.

On an industrial scale, these animals are bred in large nurseries, where conditions are created that are practically no different from natural ones. But even with appropriate care, even experienced breeders are not able to provide fur products to everyone. The thing is that these animals too rarely bear offspring.

They are valued primarily for their expensive and rare fur. Many experts note that the fur of this animal is unrivaled in terms of wear resistance. Products made from black fur have the most impressive appearance. They have coarse guard hairs, but they also have very soft and fluffy down. If necessary, designers can create real masterpieces from otter fur: to do this, they pluck out the guard hairs, resulting in products of unusual beauty, covered with the most delicate underfur.

Conclusion

The river otter is a very interesting animal, which is very difficult to meet, even if you know about its habits. The fact is that she behaves very secretly and never settles near human habitations. At the first suspicion that she is being watched, she will immediately hide in her shelter. Therefore, you need to monitor it very carefully. The river otter may seem like a funny animal to some, so you may want to keep it in your home. However, this is not recommended, as it is a very troublesome task.

In addition to the fact that you will have to create conditions for it that are as close to natural as possible, this animal can cause trouble with its frequent bowel movements, from which an unpleasant odor will emanate. Therefore, if you have not yet lost the desire to keep a river otter at home, be prepared to come to terms with this drawback.

Otter

The entire territory of Belarus

Family Mustelidae.

In Belarus, this is a common species, more densely populating aquatic ecosystems in the northern and central regions. Few. The wider distribution of the otter in the northern part of the republic is due to the presence there of a large number of lakes rich in fish - its main food. Otters of Belarus belong to the nominate subspecies L. l. lutra.

Body length of adult males is 64-88 cm, adult females 56-74 cm; body weight - 6.5-12 kg and 5.6-8.5 kg, respectively. The length of the tail of adult males is 33-57 cm, in females it is 35-50 cm. The length of the foot is 11-13.5 cm, the ear is 1.0-1.5 cm, the height at the withers is 25-30 cm. Savitsky and al (2005). Body length 46-117 cm, tail 21.7-55.0 cm, foot 8.5-13.6 cm, ear 2.0-2.8 cm. Body weight of males 5.8-12.0 kg, females 2.8-8.5 kg. Sexual dimorphism appears already in the first year of life.

The body is elongated, flexible, somewhat thickened in the rear. The limbs are short and relatively thick; the fingers are connected by a well-developed membrane. The front legs have movable joints and thin, sharp claws that help in obtaining food in the water, although the otter mainly catches fish with its jaws. However, such paws are poorly suited for digging and the otter uses ready-made cavities as shelters. The tail is long, thick at the base and gradually tapering towards the end. The neck is thick, the head is small, strongly flattened, with a short, blunt muzzle. The ears barely protrude from the hairline. Juveniles are much smaller than adults. Differences between females and males in body size and weight appear in the first year of life.

There are 36 teeth. The fangs are thin, long and very sharp. Thanks to the design of the dental system, the killing and chewing of water-dwelling animals that have a relatively hard cover (scales in fish, shell in crayfish) is ensured.

The hair coat is formed by a hard, relatively low awn and a soft, low and very thick undercoat. Otter fur is considered the standard of durability. The color of the hair on the back is dark brown, less often brown, on the sides it is lighter, with a reddish tint. The belly is noticeably lighter than the sides and often mixed with a slight yellowness. The chin, throat, chest, and cheeks are much lighter than the belly and have a well-defined silver tint. Young otters lack shine and have darker fur.

The otter's molt, like that of most semi-aquatic animals, is extended and hardly noticeable. This is evident from the fact that its summer fur differs very little in thickness from its winter fur and is somewhat lighter than it.

The otter is a predator specialized in feeding on fish, so its entire life is spent near bodies of water and their shores. It prefers fast-flowing, relatively deep rivers with steep banks covered with trees and shrubs. Much less often this animal can be found on slow-flowing rivers and reclamation canals. The otter mainly lives on lakes, reservoirs and fish ponds only in the warm season, since during freeze-up the aquatic food from these reservoirs becomes almost inaccessible to it. Optimal habitat conditions for the otter in Belarus are created on moderately flowing medium-sized rivers with moderately and slightly waterlogged floodplains, fast-flowing small rivers with moderately swampy floodplains, where its potential densities exceed 4.0 individuals per 10 km of watercourse. On other types of watercourses, including artificial ones, the potential otter density is from 0.7 to 2.4 individuals per 10 km.

The otter is not attached to a selected body of water or a specific area of ​​it. It stays in it as long as there is a sufficient amount of fish or other food there. As soon as the reservoir becomes low in food, the otter looks for a new feeding place.

The otter swims and dives well. In this she is helped by a streamlined flexible body, swimming membranes on her paws, a movable tail, dense and waterproof hair, valves that close the ear canals and nostrils that close when diving. When the otter is not in a hurry, it swims, paddling with its paws. When moving quickly, the paws are pressed against the body and it begins to move due to the wriggling body and tail. An otter can stay underwater for about 4 minutes. (in case of danger even longer), then usually surfaces, replenishes air reserves and again plunges into the water in search of food. On land it usually moves by jumping, less often by walking. The otter's jumps are small, the distance between groups of tracks reaches 20-35 cm.

The otter's permanent refuge is usually a burrow. She digs holes herself rarely and reluctantly, more often she takes advantage of natural blurred areas, slightly expanding and correcting them. In the conditions of Belarus, otter shelters are abandoned and rarely used beaver residential buildings (burrows, cobbles, semi-huts, huts). Sometimes it settles in residential areas, surviving the beaver itself. But usually the otter does not harm the beaver and easily gets along with it. In its habitat, the otter has approximately 10 to 30 shelters. They are located unevenly and are mainly confined to more feeding areas of the reservoir. Temporary shelters are heaps of rubbish washed ashore by hollow water, hollows of fallen or obliquely growing trees, floorings for haystacks located near the water, or simply banks covered from above by overhanging roots of coastal vegetation. In such shelters, the otter sometimes even gives birth and feeds cubs. However, usually the brood shelter of a female who has given birth is a small chamber lined with dry grass and usually located above the flood water level, which has 1-3 exits.

The otter leads a hidden lifestyle. Its presence in the water can most often be determined only by paw prints, droppings or food remains found on the sandy shallows of reservoirs in the summer, and in the snow near ice holes in the winter. She comes out to feed at dusk and goes to rest at dawn. In the middle of the night and especially during daylight hours, they usually rest in one of the shelters. At night, during the warm season, they often use open beds on the shore of a reservoir to rest. However, it cannot be called an exclusively nocturnal animal. In calm and quiet places it can sometimes be seen during the day. In winter, she often hunts only during the day. Often, at different times of the day, otters rest in a dry place in thickets of tall grassy vegetation, also near a reservoir.

The otter's diet usually consists of aquatic animals, but the most preferred food is crayfish and fish. On relatively large reservoirs of Belarus (large and medium-sized rivers, lakes), the occurrence of fish in the otter’s diet is 56-88%, on small reservoirs (small rivers, reclamation canals) - 21-60%. The otter's main diet consists of fish weighing up to 200 g. These are mainly perch, ruffe, pike, roach, silver bream, ide, bleak, crucian carp and loach. Fish weighing 300-500 g or more are caught by the otter relatively rarely. As for crayfish, they do not always live in the reservoir inhabited by the otter. The occurrence of crayfish in the otter's diet can be up to 53%. What the otter lacks in diet on fish and crayfish, the otter makes up for it with amphibians (mainly grass frogs and pond frogs). Less often, it eats insects (mainly swimming beetles and their larvae), mollusks, reptiles (snakes, lizards), water birds and small mammals (water vole, muskrat). Significant seasonal changes in otter nutrition are observed only on small rivers and are entirely determined by the dynamics of the abundance and availability of basic food. Thus, in small watercourses, the proportion of fish increases significantly during spawning, and the proportion of amphibians increases during the autumn concentration of the grass frog near watercourses for wintering and during its early spring activation and spawning.

Yulia Pivovarova, reserve "Divin - Great Forest", Kobrin district, Brest region.

The daily food requirement of an otter is about 1 kg. When obtaining food, it uses various methods: a sudden attack, usually without stalking (sedentary fish) or with stalking (waterfowl, muskrat), pursuit (mobile fish) and gathering (amphibians, crayfish, insects, mollusks). The otter eats small food on the surface of the water immediately after catching it. It drags larger prey onto the shore or onto the trunk of trees that have fallen into the water and then eats it. The otter usually does not store food and gets as much food as it can eat. It is quite rare to find one or more killed fish and several frogs immobilized by bites to the head as an otter food supply.

But during the freeze-up, feeding conditions for the otter deteriorate greatly. Unable to stay under water for a long time, the otter in winter sticks to ice holes, unfrozen streams and banks, where there are voids under the ice formed by lowering the water level.

During the initial period of freeze-up, otters enter the reservoir through unfrozen rapids and abandoned or rarely used beaver buildings. Later, as the water level drops, voids called empty ice form under the ice. The ice in such places often settles, breaks, and thus opens up access for the otter to the reservoir. Sometimes an otter may not appear on the surface from a hollow ice for several days.

Otters live alone or in families consisting of an adult female mother and her cubs. Along with individuals that relatively constantly develop a certain habitat, the otter population contains quite a lot of nomadic individuals that do not have one and move through an extensive system of reservoirs. Individual or family habitats are constantly marked by otters in clearly visible, distinctive places, which are trees that have fallen into the water, large stones, the edges of sand spits, shore ledges, etc. Most often, otters mark the boundaries of habitats, shelters, and the shore in the main places of food extraction, as well as places of rest and drying of hair, etc. Excrement, urine and secretions of the anal glands are used for marking. In places of permanent marking, latrines are formed, which are important in regulating the use of the territory. However, despite their pronounced territorial behavior, otters do not fight when they meet, and after performing the ritual of sniffing each other, accompanied by the discharge of urine and the secretion of the anal glands onto the ground, they usually disperse, although sometimes they can accompany each other for some time.

Yulia Pivovarova, reserve "Divin - Great Forest", Kobrin district, Brest region.

On large and medium-sized rivers, the territorial behavior of otters is less pronounced, since favorable habitat conditions weaken competitive relationships. Therefore, in such reservoirs their habitat areas are variable and overlap greatly. On the contrary, on small watercourses they are relatively constant and more demarcated. The size of habitat areas on small rivers with a natural channel is mainly determined by feeding conditions and is 3-7 km, and on reclamation canals 6-10 km.

The relationship between the otter and the European mink is quite neutral. These species of native fauna have quite successfully divided the developed resources and compete little. Unlike the otter, which is concentrated in deeper rivers, European minks more often live in streams and shallow rivers, and as food they mainly use frogs, as well as crayfish, relatively large aquatic insects and fish, but much smaller than the otter. European mink have never been numerous in the main otter habitats, so the main parts of their populations are biotopically delimited. On the contrary, the acclimatized American mink, which differs in many respects ecologically from the European mink, masters aquatic ecosystems in such a way that it often enters into some competitive relationships with the otter. This depends on the size of the reservoir, the abundance and availability of food and other factors. On large and medium-sized rivers and glacial lakes their relations on the use of resources are more neutral, on small rivers with a natural channel there are weak and moderate competitive relations, and on reclamation canals there is quite significant competition in the use of the same resources - feed, places of access to water and shelters . It is likely that competitive pressure from the otter limits the population density of the American mink.

Female otters reach sexual maturity at the age of 2 years, and males more often at the age of 3-4 years. Mating can probably occur throughout the year, but more often in February-March, less often in August-September.

A female can be courted by several males, between whom fights constantly arise and the strongest of the males remains with the female. However, disruption of the sexual composition and decrease in otter population density as a result of unsustainable fishing leads to the fact that a significant part of the females remains unfertilized.

The duration of pregnancy, as in other mustelids, varies greatly due to the presence of a latent stage, and can range from 51 days to 13 months. Childbirth in females can occur from April to November, but for most it is confined to the spring or autumn months. In a litter of 1-4, usually 2-3 cubs. The cubs stay in the nest and feed on their mother's milk for 2-3 months. Often after feeding, the female carefully massages the babies’ bellies with her tongue, thus promoting normal digestion.

Yulia Pivovarova, reserve "Divin - Great Forest", Kobrin district, Brest region.

From the age of one and a half months, otter cubs begin to eat food brought by the female: fish, crayfish, amphibians. The mother often brings the prey alive, and the cubs kill it on their own. Having had enough, the otters play with the remaining food, fight and chase, taking it from each other. From this same age, the mother begins to teach her cubs to swim and dive. Feeding the young, teaching them how to obtain food, choosing and arranging shelters and dwellings, marking the territory and other skills is also carried out by the mother. At the age of 8-10 months, otters become relatively independent, but the female feeds the young, and if she dies, the brood usually dies from exhaustion. Young otters remain in their mother’s habitat for at least a year, often up to one and a half years.

The male apparently does not take part in raising the young; after mating, he leaves the female and lives independently, sometimes joining the brood only during hunting.

The life expectancy of an otter in captivity is 13-15 years, but most often in natural conditions only some individuals live up to 8-10 years, and on average 3-5 years. The main cause of death for otters is their prey by humans. Apart from humans, the otter has no enemies. An old otter easily defends itself against a dog and a fox. Large pikes and catfish can attack young ones. Otters also die from a variety of diseases. Demographic indicators are very dependent on fishing intensity. Therefore, life expectancy has minimum values ​​for intensively exploited populations, and maximum values ​​for reliably protected populations in some reserves.

The longer the life expectancy, the greater the proportion of adults and the smaller the proportion of young individuals in the age composition of populations. In Belarus, the proportion of young individuals in the otter population is 21-29%, mature individuals 56-69%.

Otters are highly tamed. A tamed otter is very funny, affectionate and obedient.

Yulia Pivovarova, reserve "Divin - Great Forest", Kobrin district, Brest region.

In the second half of the twentieth century. in the northern part of the republic (Vitebsk region) in the 70s. About a third of the populations of this species were concentrated in the 90s. more than 70%. In the 90s the highest density of individuals per 1000 hectares of wetlands was noted in the Grodno (6.2) and Mogilev (4.1) regions, almost 2 times lower in the Minsk (2.7) and Vitebsk (2.5), the lowest in Gomel (1.5) and Brest (1.0) regions.

In the first half of the 1980s. the total number of otters in Belarus was about 3-3.5 thousand individuals. By 1990 it had decreased to 2-2.5 thousand. According to other estimates, at the end of the 80s - early 90s. The number of otter was estimated from 7 to 12 thousand individuals.

The number of otters living in the hunting grounds of Belarus in 2013 was 6,720 individuals.

Yulia Pivovarova, reserve "Divin - Great Forest", Kobrin district, Brest region.

Yulia Pivovarova, reserve "Divin - Great Forest", Kobrin district, Brest region.

3. Grichik V.V., Burko L.D. "Fauna of Belarus. Vertebrates: textbook" Minsk, 2013. -399 p.

4. Serzhanin I. N. “Mammals of Belarus”. 2nd edition. Minsk, 1961. -321 p.

5. Savitsky B.P. Kuchmel S.V., Burko L.D. “Mammals of Belarus”. Minsk, 2005. -319 p.

The river otter, or common otter (Lutralutra), is a mammalian predator belonging to the Mustelidae family.

The otter is large enough for its family. The average weight of a male is 8-10 kg with a length of 48-90 cm, the body length of a female is 54-70 cm with a weight of 6-10 kg.

The appearance of the animal is characteristic of an animal leading an aquatic lifestyle. It has an elongated, squat, exceptionally flexible body of equal thickness along its entire length, with small short legs, on which there are membranes.

The thick, long and muscular tail is slightly longer than the body. The lateral parts of the tail have a large accumulation of collagen tissue, necessary for the accumulation of fat, and are covered with adjacent short hair.

The head is oval and small in size compared to the body, the neck is short and flattened. On the head there are weakly protruding short ears, which have a certain peculiarity: the hearing aid, when diving into water, is closed by a valve.

An otter's fur coat is only slightly thicker in winter than in summer. The winter fur of the river otter is dark brown on top, slightly lighter on the belly and underside of the cheeks, and the fur fits tightly to the body. Summer fur is a little thinner, but the color does not change.

The lifespan of an otter in nature is about 10 years.

Lifestyle of a river otter

The river otter is active at dusk and at night, especially under the light of the full moon. In autumn and winter, when the nights are dark, the otter can hunt during the daytime.

It moves easily both in water and on land, and dives well. A diving otter survives without air for 5 minutes. Before going onto land, the animal looks around for a long time and carefully sniffs. The permanent landing site is usually covered with branches or driftwood. The personal area where the otter rests and hunts ranges from 5 to 15 km of the river’s coastal zone. When there is a lack of food in winter, otters migrate to the southern regions to escape.

Both adults and baby otters are very playful. My favorite game is riding along the elevated coastal slope. In places where frequent games are played, so-called “skating slopes” are formed.

River otter diet

Otter is a semi-aquatic animal. Many river dwellers form a large part of its diet. The otter's food can be carp, roach, crucian carp, gobies and even small pike. Prefers small fish.

In winter, when there is not enough food, it eats frogs, crayfish, and all kinds of larvae. In addition to fish, it hunts water voles, ducks, waders, and small rodents.

River otter breeding

river otter- this animal is polygamous - does not stick to one partner. Mating in this animal can occur throughout the year. However, pregnancy can be latent - that is, it can stop developing until a more favorable period. After 60 days, blind ones appear (2-4 copies). The length of newborns varies from 10 to 18 cm with a body weight of 77-133 g. The eyes open on days 9-10.

The female is very attached to her babies and carefully protects them. Capable of attacking humans while protecting cubs.

River Otter Habitat

Its natural habitat is forest rivers with plenty of food, especially fish, and water that doesn’t freeze in winter. It rarely settles in lakes or ponds, since the water there is always frozen in winter. It gives preference to places with pools, with cluttered, washed-out banks, where it will find many reliable dwellings and hunting grounds.

Natural habitat of the river otter

It lives everywhere throughout Europe (not found in the northern regions), most of Asia and North-West Africa.

In Ukraine, river otteranimal quite common. Found in bodies of water in almost all areas.

The number of river otter and the reasons for its decline

A rare species with a constant decline in numbers.

The reason for the decline in the number of river otter:

• human development of natural territories;
• overhunting;
• desiccation;
• freezing of water bodies;
• groundwater pollution.

Legislative regulation of the hunting of this animal and the creation of protected areas are required.

How vulnerable river otter species included in the list of the International Community for the Conservation of Endangered Animals, listed in the Red Book of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova.

Under the protection of many state reserves and wildlife sanctuaries. Can breed in captivity.

River otter video