Smooth-Coated Otter

I've seen a couple of wild river otters in the wild in the U.S., one in Georgia and one in northern California. In Georgia I was close to the otter, on a boardwalk, but it disappeared quickly. In northern California I was far away and could barely tell what it was. 

So when I was in the Eastern Range of Kaziranga NP in December 2024 and my guide pointed out a group of seven otters, we stopped our vehicle and watched them for quite awhile in fascination. They were sleeping or resting in a close grouping, then ultimately all stood up on their hind legs, looking toward the lake they were near, then they dashed off in a line toward the lake, wriggling and undulating, through and over each other, like a group of eels in shallow water. It was a real treat. 

Lounging together in a group.

Something seems to have caught their attention from the direction of the lake and they looked up and toward the lake, then ultimately all stood on their hind legs and looked in the direction of the lake. 

Then they headed toward the lake, first as a group and ultimately single-file. 

They got out into the direct sun and the lake can be seen in the background. The otters disappeared as they headed to the right. 

The smooth-coated otter is a fresh-water otter found primarily in Southeast Asia. 

Range of the smooth-coated otter from Wikipedia. 

It is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN because of habitat loss, pollution of wetlands and the illegal fur trade. 

It has a coat of dark-brown to reddish-brown fur on its back, with lighter grayish-brown on the underside. Compared to other otter species, it has a more rounded head, a diamond-shaped hairless nose, and a flattened tail in contrast to the more rounded tail of other otter species. It has large, webbed feet with strong sharp claws for handling slippery fish. 

They establish dens under tree roots, which is what we appeared to see, or among boulders. 

This is how we initially saw them, lounging together near the base of the large tree in the background. 

They are primarily active during the day. They communicate through whistles, chirps and wails.