Asian small-clawed otter Aonyx cinereus
The world's smallest otter.
The Asian small-clawed otter lives in the freshwater regions of South and Southeast Asia. This otter is well adapted to life in and around water.
The Asian small-clawed otter in a nutshell
- eats
- clams and crabs
- inhabits
- South India, Malacca and southern China
- excels at
- cooperation and communication
Smallest otter
The small-clawed otter is the smallest species of otter. It has brown fur with a grey-white throat and a flat body with a 25 to 30-centimetre-long tail. Its small, round ears and lockable nose make it well adapted to life underwater. Asian small-clawed otters can dive for 6 to 8 minutes and communicate with each other through up to 12 different sounds.
Cracking shells
With their sensitive fingertips, they search under stones and in the mud for food. If they find a shell, they lie on their backs and use a small stone to knock the shell open. They also use their teeth to crack shells.
'Sweating like an otter'
The dense, greasy coat makes the top layer water-repellent and keeps the body dry. The underlayer retains air for isolation. During diving, however, this air is compressed, so the otter has to get out of the water regularly to get warm again. The water remaining on the fur resembles sweat - hence the Dutch expression ‘sweating like an otter’.
