Eurasian Otter Sightings Confirmed in Jammu and Kashmir After 50 Years

Key facts

• The Forest Department of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) recorded the first direct photographic evidence of the Eurasian Otter in Sindh Nalla, Ganderbal, in nearly 50 years.
• Range Officer Faizan Anwar Mir captured an image of a sub-adult otter in Gutlibagh, suggesting the existence of a breeding group in the area.
• The Kishenganga river acts as a natural corridor for the species to move across the Line of Control (LoC) between Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and North Kashmir.
• Evidence indicates that the otters swim freely between PoK and villages in North Kashmir, crossing the frontier at Keran and Teetwal.
• Earlier camera-trap records had confirmed the presence of the species in the Kishenganga and Rambiara Nalla regions before the recent direct sighting.
• The high-altitude, cold-water streams along the LoC provide a vital sanctuary for the species due to minimal civilian industrialisation.
• Environmental experts noted that pollution and encroachment in Wular Lake and Jhelum waters remain major obstacles to the species' full ecological recovery.