IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 33(2) 2016 R E P O R T FIRST SYSTEMATIC SURVEY FOR OTTER (Lutra lutra) IN LADAKH, INDIAN TRANS HIMALAYAS Pushpinder Singh JAMWAL1*, Jigmit TAKPA2, Pankaj CHANDAN1, Melissa SAVAGE3 1Western Himalayas Landscape, WWF-India 2Department of Wildlife Protection, Jammu and Kashmir, India 3University of California, Los Angeles, USA * e-mail
[email protected] (*corresponding author) (Received 3rd September 2016, accepted 24th October 2016) ABSTRACT: We report the findings of the first survey for Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) from the Upper Indus River and several of its tributaries in Leh and Kargil Districts, India. The survey was conducted between 25th August to 30th October, 2015. We report the distribution of otter sign, including camera trap images, scats, tracks, and latrines, and the habitat characteristics along 50 km of riverbank. We observed indirect sign of otter presence on two of the four rivers surveyed, but otter abundance appears to be low in the area. Human disturbance, including proximity to settlements, grazing livestock, and particularly feral dogs, appears to deter otter presence. Key words: Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra, Western Himalaya landscape, Indus River, Dras River INTRODUCTION The presence of otters in the Upper Indus River Valley of Ladakh, India, has only been reported anecdotally to date. Ladakh is a region in the northernmost Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, on the western edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The great trough of the Upper Indus River Valley runs between the Zanskar Mountains, north of the Great Himalaya Range, and south of the Ladakh Mountains, a part of the Karakoram Range.