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It has been found that 27 otters, an endangered wildlife species, are living in the Han River area in Seoul. This is nearly double the number from four years ago, which is interpreted as a sign that the ecosystem of the Han River is recovering.
Reporter Han Sung-hee has the story.
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This footage of an otter was captured in February at Seongnaecheon Stream in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
It is hunting for what appears to be a fish.
[Ryu Yoon-bo / Informant: Seeing it right next to Jamsil in the downtown Han River area of Seoul was so fresh and amazing. I felt overwhelmed, realizing that we are coexisting within the same boundary....]
Sightings of otters, a Class 1 endangered species and natural monument, have increased markedly over the past few years.
The National Institute of Biological Resources collected otter feces around the Han River from January to April of this year and analyzed their DNA. As a result, the number of otters living in the Han River was tallied at 27.
There were 16 females and 11 males, comprising five families of parents, children, or siblings.
This is the first time family relationships have been confirmed, revealing that they live by dividing territories within the Han River and have even successfully reproduced.
This is an otter habitat located in the lower reaches of Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seongdong-gu.
Here, you can see otter feces left behind to mark their territory.
Otters live in areas with clean water and abundant food sources, making them an ecological indicator species.
[Hong Yoon-ji / Researcher, National Institute of Biological Resources: The increase in the Han River otter population means that the Han River ecosystem is recovering.]
Once common on the Korean Peninsula, they were driven to near extinction following the Korean War due to poaching for fur and development projects in the 1970s that covered rivers with concrete, robbing them of their habitats.
Since then, about 40 years later in 2016, a single otter was first discovered in the Han River. The number has steadily increased, with 4 identified in 2017 and 15 in 2022.
For these welcome guests to settle in as our neighbors, systematic monitoring and continuous management for coexistence are required.
(Video by Kim Nam-sung | Video Editing by Kim Jong-tae | Design by Kim Han-gil)
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