Scientists discover animal species not sighted for 185 years and thought to be extinct: “we can finally confirm it”

As humans have an ever greater impact on the natural environment, concerns continue to mount about the future of many plant and animal species. Scientists found that within a matter of decades around 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction according to a UN report.

That same report was not all doom and gloom but also found that ”it is not too late to make a difference,” said Sir Robert Watson, chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), “but only if we start now at every level from local to global.” So when a creature that was thought to be extinct is rediscovered, it gives hope to conservationists. Such is the case of the Asian small-clawed otter, whose presence in Nepal has been confirmed for the first time in over 185 years.

“After years of speculation… We can finally confirm that the small-clawed otter lives on in the country”

The confirmation of the Asian small-clawed otter in Nepal follows the aquatic animal’s rediscovery in Darjeeling, India in 2022. That had sparked hopes that it would be found again in eastern Nepal, which shares a similar topography, said Mohan Bikram Shrestha of the Otter Specialist Group at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) speaking to Mongabay.

There have been sightings in the east of Nepal, but none have been confirmed yet. In the end, the smallest of the 13 otter species showed up in the west of the Himalayan nation. “After years of speculation about its presence in Nepal, we can finally confirm that the small-clawed otter lives on in the country,” he told the outlet.

The otter in question was discovered by forestry department officials in Dadeldhura district who found the juvenile “in a fragile and injured state,” Shrestha explained, so they decided to feed and nurse it. However, they didn’t know which species it belonged to so they sought help from the IUCN Otter Specialist Group. After sharing images and video of the otter the group confirmed that it was a small-clawed otter.

The discovery of the small-claw otter is not only exciting in that it is not extinct in Nepal, but also that it is an excellent biological indicator species. “They are highly sensitive to habitat disturbance — ranging from destruction to pollution — and their numbers give scientists an indication of the general health of their environment,” says the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute.

The Otter Specialist Group is working to get the small-claw otter added to Nepal’s Aquatic Animal Protection Act, so that it can enjoy the protections afforded to the Eurasian and smooth-coated otters which are currently included. These creatures and other aquatic species have been negatively affected by “severe degradation of Nepal’s rivers due to overexploitation.”

While the presence of the smooth-coated otters has never been in question, that of the Eurasian otter was only confirmed to inhabit the country in 2021. Since the confirmation of the Eurasian otter in Nepal, multiple sightings have been reported around the country. “We hope that the discovery of the small-clawed otter in western Nepal would trigger a similar flurry of reports,” said Shrestha.

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