The otter is an animal belonging to the mustelid family ( Mustelidae ) and we can find eight different species, all of them protected due to the imminent danger of extinction .If you plan to have an otter as a pet or have you heard For someone to have it, you should know that it is totally prohibited by law and can carry significant fines and penalties if they are held in captivity.
In this Animals and Pets Online article, we will talk about how of life that this animal has in nature, because it is not correct to have an otter as a pet and what to do if we find one.
Where and how do otters live?
The European otter ( Lutra lutra ) used to inhabit all of Europe, from the mass areas, to northern Africa and part of Asia.From half of the twentieth century many of its populations disappeared due to human persecution, food shortages, destruction of their habitat and pollution.
All otters, with the exception of the sea otter ( Enhydra lutris ), they live in rivers, lakes, marshes, lagoons or any place where there is clear water, surrounded by very dense forest vegetation.Burrows are on the banks, taking advantage of natural caves .They do not have a single burrow, it is known that each day they can rest in a different one, as long as they are within their territory.
They feed almost exclusively of aquatic animals, fish, crustaceans, amphibians or reptiles , although, if they do not have the above, they can leave the water and hunt small animals.miferos or birds.Less the sea otter, which does not leave the ocean in its entire life.
Generally, the otter is a solitary animal , they only gather during courtship and copulates, and when the mother is with her young until they leave, they can reproduce throughout the year, but usually regulate their cycles according to the times of drought and the abundance of their favorite prey.
Is the otter a domestic animal?
In countries like Japan or Argentina, there is a new "trend" that consists of having an otter as a pet.Although it may seem like a docile and manageable animal, the otter is a wild animal , which has not gone through a process of domestication, which would take hundreds of years.
People often buy illegally the animal when it is still a puppy, so it has been separated from their mother too soon.Otter puppies must be with their mother for at least 18 months, because they learn from it everything necessary for life.The fact that they are solitary animals is another reason why they should not be pets, because they would be accompanied most of the time.In addition, in a house they could not carry out all their natural behaviors , since we do not usually have rivers or lakes in our homes.
On the other hand, these animals become really aggressive when they are in heat , condition in which are most of his adult life.
How to care for an otter?
If you find an adult otter and think it may be badly injured or need veterinary attention, it is best to watch it in the distance while calling 112 or forest agents in the region where you are.try to catch it, since it could attack you and, being a mammal, transmit a multitude of infections or parasites.
If on the contrary you find a child that under no circumstances could survive on its own, you can enter it in a cardboard box wide enough, introduce a blanket to protect it from the cold (if it does) and take it to a wildlife recovery center or call the forest agents.
Is it legal to have an otter as a pet in Spain?
All otter species are found in Appendix I of the CITES agreement, this means that their capture or trade is totally prohibited, in Spain or in any other country in the world.these species for reasons Scientists, for the study of populations or reintroduction into the natural environment.In addition, the otter is included in the Berne Convention, due to its imminent extinction.
For this reason, and because the otter is not a domestic animal, but wild, you can not have an otter as a pet.
If you want to read more articles similar to Is it right to have an otter as a pet? , we recommend you enter our section What do you need to know.
Bibliography
- Appendices I, II and III effective as of October 4, 2017.Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
- BOE num.235, of October 1, 1986.Instrument of ratification of the Convention on the conservation of wildlife and the natural environment in Europe, made in Bern on September 19, 1979. Ruiz-Olmo, J.(2017).Nutria-Lutra lutra.In: Virtual Encyclopedia of the Spanish Vertebrates.Salvador, A., Barja, I.(Eds.).National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid.
- Current situation of the List of Wild Species in Special Protection Regime and, where appropriate, of the Spanish Catalog of Endangered Species.(Number of taxa included according to Royal Decree 139/2011, of February 4 and its modifications : Order AAA/75/2012, of January 12; Order AAA/1771/2015, of August 31 and Order AAA/1351/2016, of July 29).
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