IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin
©IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group
Volume 26 Issue 1 pages 1 - 62 (April 2009)
OSG Group Members News
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News Items Involving OSG Members
New Members of OSG
Thus far this year, we have welcomed 14 new members to the
OSG: you can read more about them on the Members-Only
pages.
Masood Arshad, Pakistan: I am
Programme manager for the Pakistan Wetlands Programme, organising the conservation of Wetlands Dependent Biodiversity especially the endemic Indus Dolphin, highly traded softshelled turtles, severely hunted populations of crocodile, Hog Deer and the ruthlessly
killed species of otters. Pakistan is lucky to host two species of otters (Eurasian Otter and the Smooth Coated Otter). Both species are facing risk and are threatened. We have initiated efforts to conserve both the species and have worked in 2007 and also in 2008 on this programme.
Lyca Sandrea G. Castro, Phillippines: My team and I
are working on surveying for Asian small-clawed otters on Palewan,
Phillippines
Gareth DaBell, United Kingdom:
I work with two female Asian Small-Clawed Otters at the Lakes Aquarium. I am particularly interested in the role of training in otter welfare, specifically using training to overcome behavioural problems.
I also plan to privately establish an otter boarding facility for zoo otters that need a temporary home whilst a permanent home is being found for them; I can also offer behavioural assessment and modification for these animals.
Ruth Davidson, Indonesia:
I am hand-raising an orphaned Asian Small-Clawed Otter cub in Jakarta. I am actively involved with informal community education about the otters in our area, and am looking into possibilties for otter rehabilitation here
Morten Elmeros, Denmark: I work on applied research and management of mammals, focusing on carnivore population dynamics and spatial ecology, and monitoring of carnivores and bats, landscape ecology including fragmentation and fauna passages, environmental impact assessment, management plans, environmental capacity building and ecotoxicological risk assessment.
Allison Ford, USA: I am the new Executive
Director of the Otter Project, looking after Sea Otters in
California
Waseem Ahmad Khan, Pakistan: By membership of this group,
I hope tp fully utilize my expertise for natural resources
management, specifically biodiversity conservation, environmental
sustainability, Natural history museology, scientific research,
and project planning & management for a better environment
in the country.
Reinhard Klenke, Germany: I work on
Sustainable Development of Forest Landscapes in the Northeastern Lowlands of Germany. I am also active in analysis and modelling of habitat suitability of selected species of birds and mammals, behavioural ecology, Population ecology, Landscape ecology, Evolutionary biology, Applied computer science (Ecological modelling, Databases). I am interested in Island biogeography, Metapopulation theory and Evolutionary epistemology
Rachel Kuhn, France:I have worked on otters for many
years, in France and then in Germany at the Otter-Zentrum.
My PhD is on the Comparative
analysis of structural and functional hair coat characteristics,
including heat loss regulation, in the Lutrinae (Carnivora:
Mustelidae). I currently work for
the French Mammal Society (SFEPM) on the editing of the National
Action Plan for Otters.
Ivan Rubiano, Colombia: I am a veterinarian with
extensive experience in the rearing and rehabilitating of orphaned
Giant Otter cubs. I am an advisor to the OSG
Captive Otter Taskforce
Katrin Ruff, Germany: I did my PhD on
Nutrition and energetics of otters, and am now working for OtterFranken, establishing a habitat corridor connecting the Czech Republic through Upper Franconia in Germany to Luxembourg and Belgium to connect the eastern and western European otter populations. I am nutrition advisor to the OSG Captive Otter Taskforce
Steven Schaefer, USA:
Since I was a child I have been interested in otters. I graduated from Columbia University majoring in Biology and did my course work for a degree in wildlife biology at University of Vermont. While there I did a paper on otter populations by comparing trapping records and interviewing trappers. I have recently retired from a career as a lawyer and want to get back into the Biology. I helped start a 501c (non-profit) corporation that does mostly Manatee work. I serve on the board and do a lot of volunteer work capturing, tagging and monitoring of manatees. The name of the group is sea@shore Alliance and the web site is sea2shore.org. At this point I would like to try to do a population study on the otters in this area.
Chris Shepherd, Malaysia: I have
been working for TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia for many years and
have been recording evidence and observations on Smooth-coated
and Small-clawed Otters mainly in Malaysia. The
trade in otters in Asia is a field I am having a close
look at. This is becoming a huge problem, with shipments
of thousands at a time becoming a regular issue, mostly
coming from Myanmar, India and Bangladesh.
Aleš Toman, Czech Republic: I am the
Zoologist at Jihlava Zoo and interested in captive otter husbandry and welfare. I am a member of the OSG Captive Otter Taskforce.
Rob Williams, Peru: I am the Director
of Frankfurt Zoological Society’s Andes-Amazon
Conservation Programme and have been in charge of the Giant
Otter project in Peru since 2006.
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