What is the number of Eurasian otters left on the brink of extinction? What is the protection level of Eurasian otters?

With big eyes and a slender body turned deftly in the water, the Eurasian otter from Kinmen is the star animal of the Taipei Municipal Zoo. Previously, mountain streams below 1500 meters across Taiwan used to be the habitat of Eurasian otters; however, only Jinmen has small-scale wild populations, with no more than 200. it is a "highly endangered" species in the list of terrestrial mammal red books compiled by the Forestry Bureau in 2017. It is listed as the national second-class key protected animal.

However, this year, with the cooperation of the Taipei City Zoo, the Kinmen County government, and the Army Kinmen Defense Command, the basic investigation data of otters are expected to take a big step forward; at the same time, the Jinmen County government has also installed otter stairs and road warning systems in some rivers, hoping to reduce the road killing crisis of otters and promote the reproduction and life of otters.

The stable reproduction of the otter group reduces the road kill, and the increase of friendly engineering can make them happy. Otter habitat must have a land and water environment in order to survive, so if the water environment is destroyed and the road cuts the habitat, it will affect the otter's moving path and cause "road killing". Zhong Liwei explained that at present, the county government has begun to remove silt from the river and remove the lotus, and this year it will also use a warning system for some roads to use reflectors to refract the light of car lights and remind otters not to cross the road.

Zhong Liwei said that in recent years, thanks to the efforts of the Kinmen County Government and the Forestry Bureau, Taipei City Zoo, Taiwan University, and the Kinmen National Park Administration, mother and son otters have been found one after another on long-term monitoring infrared cameras. it shows that the otter population is still growing steadily, and the ecological staircase for otters can also see signs of otter use. However, Zhong Liwei also conservatively said that there are still many infrastructure projects that are not friendly enough for otters, and there is still a lot of room for effort.

Zhong Liwei hopes that this year's "2019 Culture Tourism season and Otter Conservation activity" jointly organized with the Taipei City Zoo will break the "stratosphere" effect of conservation issues and improve the visibility of otter conservation issues. so that people can reflect that although some projects are convenient for the people, they may also destroy the otter habitat and affect the otter's life.