Elusive endangered hairy-nosed otter filmed in Sabah wildlife sanctuary

KOTA KINABALU: The highly elusive and almost extinct hairy-nosed otter was recently spotted in Sabah’s biodiversity-rich Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.

The sighting was recorded by students and researchers at the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens said this species, not caught on camera for about 100 years, was thought to be extinct until 2010, when a photo of one was captured on camera at the Deramakot Forest Reserve.

Cardiff University PhD student at DGFC Leona Wai, who is carrying out research throughout Sabah to better understand the ecology of the four Bornean otter species, said the hairy-nosed otter is known to be very elusive and sensitive to human disturbance.

“Hairy-nosed otters prefer habitats that are not easily accessed by humans such as dense swamp forests; therefore, it is difficult to spot them in the wild, ” the Sabahan said.

Goossens said since 2010, there have been only a handful of opportunistic sightings recorded in Deramakot Forest Reserve, Danum Valley Conservation Area and Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

“This latest discovery provides another glimmer of hope that the otter can still be prevented from dying out in Sabah, ” he said.

He, however, cautioned that the species is still under threat from poaching for their meat and skins, pollution, habitat loss, and human-otter conflicts.

Goossens said the hairy-nosed otter, listed as Endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and as Schedule II of the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, is thought to be the world’s rarest otter.

The occurrence of this extremely rare species highlights the importance of the Kinabatangan as a “corridor of life”, he said.

“It connects forests and mangroves around Tabin Wildlife Reserve with Deramakot Forest Reserve and other central forests of Sabah, creating a vital lifeline to otherwise isolated populations of endangered animals, ” he said.

These animals include clouded leopards, sunbears, Bornean elephants, Bornean orangutans and proboscis monkeys.

With the Lower Kinabatangan becoming increasingly compressed and fragmented in recent years, researchers hope development plans that have been scrapped including the controversial second Sukau Bridge would not be revived.

Goossens said government plans for the Pan-Borneo Highway expansion will create further division that prevents wildlife from travelling freely along the entire river, and thus, needed careful planning.

He said local non-governmental organisations are also trying to protect and restore the remaining forest fragments of the lower Kinabatangan, and engage in community-led programmes to replant trees in the area to provide future habitats for the many endangered species that call it home.

The footage of this incredibly rare encounter is available on DGFC's Facebook and Instagram pages.