4 months ago
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Even successful an municipality scenery wherever buildings vastly outnumber trees, quality tin inactive outpouring a surprise, arsenic it did precocious with the sighting of a smooth-coated otter successful the Adyar River.
The sighting was made by birdwatcher Indou Theagarajan connected December 28 astatine the Tholkappia Poonga. For Ms. Theagarajan, who has recorded arsenic galore arsenic 70 vertebrate taxon successful the eco-park, the otter sighting came arsenic a pleasant surprise.
Ms. Theagarajan was a regular visitant to Tholkappia Poonga.
‘Positive sign’
A regular visitant to Tholkappia Poonga, Ms. Theagarajan said, “I usually transportation my binoculars for birdwatching astir mornings. I was lasting connected 1 of the precocious built platforms erstwhile I heard a sniffing dependable from the water. At first, I thought it was a canine nearby, but erstwhile I looked much closely, I could spot precise intelligibly it was an otter. It was adjacent to the platform, astir astatine the borderline of the river.”
Naturalist Yuvan Aves said the sighting was a affirmative sign, and successful the past mates of months determination person been records of vertebrate taxon being seen present aft a agelong gap. He attributed this to the dredging of the stream carried retired for flood mitigation. The Adyar estuary has go the 2nd hotspot connected eBird, a national subject birding platform, successful caller months, helium said.
“It is harmless to accidental this is the effect of a trophic cascade,” Mr. Yuvan said, adding that the wellness of the benthic substrate is important for aquatic taxon and plankton production. When the stream is heavy polluted, arsenic the Adyar often has been with sludge, sewage, and different pollutants, it negatively impacts the ecosystem.
Water condition
Otters are said to support a cheque connected the colonisation of different aquatic taxon and signify cleanable rivers that are escaped of pollutants.
Recent sightings of otters and birds specified arsenic oystercatcher, terek sandpiper, red-billed tropicbird, mongolian short-toed lark, isabelline wheatear, Saunders’s tern, bespeak that improved stream absorption tin make a suitable situation for wildlife.
‘More otters’
Ecologist Albert Peter, who has worked extensively connected otters successful the Cauvery and Tamiraparani rivers, said smooth-coated otters, which are classified ‘vulnerable’ successful the IUCN Red List, usually unrecorded successful groups ranging from 3 to 15 individuals, suggesting determination whitethorn beryllium much otters successful the Adyar River. “Otters are highly bully indicators of a steadfast stream system,” helium said, adding their beingness shows definite stretches of the stream are present successful bully condition.
