Of the 13 species of otters in the world, Hong Kong is home to one: the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra). Eurasian otters are mainly nocturnal, but their mysterious night-time activities make it difficult to find and track them, so scientists – and the general public as well – don’t know much about them. What we do know is that rampant development and other human activities in wetlands are threatening the lives and habitats of these special creatures.   

The Wetland Incubator project has gathered experts and groups of citizen scientists who are scientifically minded detectives. They will observe and record otter signs like spraint and footprints that will allow us to better understand their distribution and population status. Design teams with inventive minds and nature-loving hearts are also recruited to help raise public awareness of otters by developing various information campaigns.   

Otter Citizen Scientists

© WWF-Hong Kong

Thanks to the help, support and dedication from our Wetland Incubator citizen scientists for the past 3 years, we have completed the monitoring, camera traps maintenance and data analysis successfully. Through the deployment of camera traps, rare and precious footages were captured which allow us to gained a greater understanding of our local Eurasian otter behaviour, and it is also especially important for the on-going study of mammal distribution within Mai Po Nature Reserve. 

Some of our citizen scientists have been with us for all three years, with some even becoming group leaders, transferring their knowledge and experience to new joiners. We look forward to seeing some exciting monitoring results – together we can help drive Hong Kong otters research forward!

Spraint Detection Conservation Dog

© WWF-Hong Kong

Detection dogs have successfully assisted in spraint surveys around the world. The Wetland Incubator project recognised the potential of including dogs to detect spraints in Hong Kong and began to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of this method.

The team invited a Border Mongrel to participate in our pilot research. The dog will go through different training stages and assessments, including environmental desensitisation and odour detection training – conducted off-site at first, then at the Reserve. This will be the first pilot project to use a detection dog for conservation purposes in Hong Kong. 

Trainer Garay and the conservation dog Aljo have begun conducting indoor and outdoor training at Mai Po Nature Reserve from 2022-2024. We are excited to share that the pilot research has been successfully completed and Aljo was able to distinguish and locate hidden spraint samples within a set boundary.

Eurasian Otter Awareness Campaign and Storybook Production

As the Eurasian otter is not widely recognised among Hong Kong citizens, most mispronounce "otter" in Cantonese. If a storybook and campaign about the Eurasian otter could be designed, highlighting its body features, habits, and the threats it faces in the form of a story, it is believed that it would generate more interest among the public and help them become familiar with this mysterious species.

Therefore, we have invited students from the School of Design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to use their creativity to bring this idea to life. This task is not easy, as it requires finding a balance between portraying the otter's fascinating personality and maintaining accuracy in depicting its physical features and the environment.

In total two storybooks and otter campaigns were developed by the students. They have created some incredible work (especially ‘The Mysterious Creature of Mai Po’ storybook) which we have produced to continue raising public awareness on Eurasian otter in Hong Kong.