PREDATION OF WATER MONITOR LIZARD (Varanus salvator) BY SMOOTH-COATED OTTER (Lutrogale perspicillata) IN

Abstract: A smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) was observed and photographed attacking and killing a water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) in a small pond at the Forestry Research Institute, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. This is the first time such an interaction has been recorded between these species and possible explanations for the behaviour are discussed. Otters, as a group, are fairly generalist in their diet taking almost anything that is either plentiful or easy to catch; a behaviour that is largely governed by their fast metabolism and subsequent need to consume large quantities of food each day (MacDonald, 2001). As such they have been observed taking young birds, frogs, crabs and even small snakes. However, little is known about the specific feeding preferences of the large smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) though it is considered to be, predominantly, a piscivore (Yeen Ten Hwang and Lariviere, 2005). Weighing in the region of 7-11 kg with a total length of around 100-120 cm (Francis, 2008) it is the largest of the four species found in this region. Work in India by Hussain and Choudhury (1998) suggests that the smooth