By Azlan Othman

Rare otter resurfaces in Brunei?

Article from Borneo Bulletin Weekend. Published on Saturday Jul, 31 2010

A member of the public in the Sultanate claimed to have seen the near-extinct otter which was reported to have been sighted in Sabah by researchers last year. But it took sometime to confirm its identity.

Researchers have photographed the extremely rare hairy-nosed otter in a forest. Pictures were taken using camera traps in the Deramakot forest reserve in Sabah, an area where the animal had not been seen for a century.

"I think Brunei still have some otters. When I am looking at the picture in the front page of Borneo Bulletin, I recalled that I could see it running across the road near the Serasa beach," the reader said.

The last known hairy-nosed otter in Borneo was one that was found dead after it was killed by a car in 1997 in Brunei.

The international environmental alliance, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has listed the hairy nosed otter as endangered as it clings to existence in pockets of Southeast Asia.

It is most threatened by poaching for meat and traditional medicine. Its habitat has also been hit by pollution and loss of prey due to overfishing.