Name:Aonyx cinerea
Alias:Small-clawed otter, Oil otter, Oriental small-clawed otter
Outline:Carnivora
Family:Carnivora Mustelidae Aonyx
length:40.6 ~ 63.5 cm
Weight:2.7~5.4 kg
Life:About 11 years
IUCN:LC
On October 10, 2016, a cute creature quickly became famous all over the world with a photo. In the photo, it has its eyes closed, its two small paws tightly folded, and a serious expression, just like a little angel praying devoutly. This cute creature is the Asian small-clawed otter.
Asian small-clawed otters are good at swimming and diving. They have a slender, cylindrical body, a soft body and a tail that is thick at the base and gradually becomes pointed near the end to reduce the resistance of movement in the water; the brown fur on the body prevents water from penetrating and instead bounces off. When they swim, they keep their front limbs close to their bodies, and use their hind limbs and tails to propel them, making their bodies rise and fall in waves. They are not only fast, but also very flexible in rising and falling and turning. They can move forward and backward, left and right, and roll freely in the water. Sometimes they like to swim like drawing circles, and they can swim quite far underwater.
Asian small-clawed otters love fishing. Even after a full meal, they will continue to fish endlessly. Fishermen use this feature to train them to become excellent fishermen.
Due to excessive hunting by humans and pollution of the environment, the number of small-clawed otters has decreased. In China, small-clawed otters have been listed as a national key protected wild animal.
Listed in the 2012 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ver 3.1 - Vulnerable (VU).
Listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).