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Yahoo
22-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Otters spotted in Kashmir waters, and residents are both thrilled and wary
Hugam, Indian-administered Kashmir – Nasir Amin Bhat, 17, was barely ankle-deep in the water when his school friend and neighbour Adil Ahmad shouted from the riverbank on a breezy summer evening in May. 'Turn back! There's something in the water.' Across the Lidder, a tributary of the Jhelum River, in Hugam village of Indian-administered Kashmir's Anantnag district, a Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) plunged into the glacial waters and started paddling furiously against the current with all four limbs. 'I had no idea what it was,' Bhat, a high school student, told Al Jazeera, 'but I grabbed my smartphone and turned on the camera.' The grainy, nine-second video shows the creature with a fur coat – classified as 'near threatened' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List – gliding out of the water and jumping onto the riverbank. After a few clumsy steps, the semiaquatic animal, which can reach elevations of 3,660 metres (12,000 feet) in the Himalayas during the summer, disappears behind a thick grove of bushes, bringing the video to an uneventful end. Long believed to have gone extinct, Eurasian otters seem to be showing signs of resurgence in Kashmir, with three individuals spotted by Indian wildlife officers in two places since 2023. The chance sightings have excited environmentalists and wildlife conservationists while raising hopes of a better future for the Himalayan region's fragile freshwater ecosystems, which have been battered by climate change in recent years. 'Habitat has improved' Indian wildlife biologist Nisarg Prakash believes the sighting of otters in Kashmir was an indicator of high-quality aquatic habitats. 'The reappearance of otters might mean that poaching has come down or the habitat has improved, and maybe both in some cases,' Prakash, whose work focuses on otters in southern parts of India, told Al Jazeera. Protected under India's Wildlife Protection Act, otters were once widely distributed across north India, including the Himalayan foothills, the Gangetic plains and parts of the northeast. A peer-reviewed study by IUCN in November last year noted that the Eurasian otter, known among Kashmiri locals as 'voddur', was found in water bodies of Lidder and Jehlum valleys, including Wular Lake, one of Asia's largest freshwater lakes. However, over the years, their population became 'patchy and fragmented due to habitat loss, pollution and human disturbances', says Khursheed Ahmad, a senior wildlife scientist at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K). Ahmad said that, due to habitat alterations from human activities and the encroachment of their ideal habitats along riverbanks and other water bodies, Eurasian otters retreated and became confined to areas that were least accessible to humans. 'Although they were not extinct, sightings and occurrences had become extremely rare and they were never documented,' said Ahmad, who heads the Division of Wildlife Sciences at SKUAST-K. Less than two years ago, a research team led by Ahmad accidentally stumbled on otters during a study on musk deer in Gurez, a valley of lush meadows and towering peaks split into two by the Kishanganga River along the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the Himalayas. Past midnight on August 6, 2023, two individual otters were captured in a riverine habitat at an altitude of 2,600 metres (8,530 feet) in the valley near the 330MW Kishanganga Hydro Electric Project built by India following a prolonged legal battle with Pakistan at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. After that sighting, the research team focused on documenting the presence of otters on the Indian side of Kashmir. 'Unfortunately, due to heavy disturbance from fishing and other local and paramilitary activities, no further presence was documented,' the IUCN study notes. Ahmed said Bhat's video is only the second photographic evidence of otters in Kashmir.'Too terrified to go there' But in the large farming village of Hugam, comprising some 300 families, residents are both excited and worried. At the crack of dawn, Muneera Bano, a homemaker, wakes to the flutter of crows cawing furiously on the willow trees lining the tributary's banks outside her home in Hugam, located some 58km (36 miles) south of the main city of Srinagar. Bano has stopped washing clothes and utensils on the riverbank after the otter was discovered, something she had done for years. 'There are underwater caves [in the tributary], and it is hiding in one of them. When it comes out in the morning, crows see it and they start screaming. I am too terrified to go there,' she said. Bhat, the teenager who filmed the video, said he often used to bathe in the tributary's glacial waters and sometimes also caught fish. 'Now I can't even think about going there,' he said. The grainy video led to rumours about the presence of crocodiles in the tributary, prompting Indian wildlife officials to set up a camera trap, which confirmed that it was a Eurasian otter – also seen in Bhat's video – and not a crocodile. Some wildlife officials even bathed in the river in the presence of village elders to demonstrate that the water was completely safe. Although otters do not pose any threat to humans, they can turn unpredictable, especially when close to humans. But scientists say these animals can grow accustomed to the presence of humans. Wildlife biologist Prakash said rather than being scared or fearful, curiosity about otters can make them a sight to be enjoyed while watching them fish or swim. 'Otters are largely active around dawn, dusk and after dark, though they can sometimes be seen during daytime as well. Eurasian otters largely prey on fish, eels, and sometimes, waterfowl,' he said. Kashmiri farmer Wasim Ahmad remembers a summer day in the early 1990s when he was on the way back from school situated along the banks of Doodhganga, a major tributary of the Jhelum River. As Ahmad, now in his 40s, turned the corner, he saw a large procession of people walking jubilantly. One man was holding a dead otter while another was walking a dog on a leash. Bagh-e-Mehtab in Srinagar is home to a community of poachers who, in the past, made a living by selling skins of animals such as cats, otters, and other animals. With stricter animal welfare laws in force in India now, the community has given up the old profession. 'Our elders warned us that otters skinned the children and ate them raw,' said Ahmad, who was in ninth grade then. 'But as I grew up, I didn't come across even one person who was harmed by otters. It was basically a tactic to keep the children away from the river.' Ahmad, the wildlife scientist, said the reappearance of otters in Kashmir was a positive sign. 'Now we should see to it that the new habitat is protected from uncontrolled pollution, garbage accumulation, increased carbon emissions and habitat degradation. Addressing these challenges is crucial for their conservation and wellbeing,' he told Al Jazeera. Solve the daily Crossword
Al Jazeera
22-07-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Otters spotted in Kashmir waters, and residents are both thrilled and wary
Hugam, Indian-administered Kashmir – Nasir Amin Bhat, 17, was barely ankle-deep in the water when his school friend and neighbour Adil Ahmad shouted from the riverbank on a breezy summer evening in May. 'Turn back! There's something in the water.' Across the Lidder, a tributary of the Jhelum River, in Hugam village of Indian-administered Kashmir's Anantnag district, a Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) plunged into the glacial waters and started paddling furiously against the current with all four limbs. 'I had no idea what it was,' Bhat, a high school student, told Al Jazeera, 'but I grabbed my smartphone and turned on the camera.' The grainy, nine-second video shows the creature with a fur coat – classified as 'near threatened' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List – gliding out of the water and jumping onto the riverbank. After a few clumsy steps, the semiaquatic animal, which can reach elevations of 3,660 metres (12,000 feet) in the Himalayas during the summer, disappears behind a thick grove of bushes, bringing the video to an uneventful end. Long believed to have gone extinct, Eurasian otters seem to be showing signs of resurgence in Kashmir, with three individuals spotted by Indian wildlife officers in two places since 2023. The chance sightings have excited environmentalists and wildlife conservationists while raising hopes of a better future for the Himalayan region's fragile freshwater ecosystems, which have been battered by climate change in recent years. 'Habitat has improved' Indian wildlife biologist Nisarg Prakash believes the sighting of otters in Kashmir was an indicator of high-quality aquatic habitats. 'The reappearance of otters might mean that poaching has come down or the habitat has improved, and maybe both in some cases,' Prakash, whose work focuses on otters in southern parts of India, told Al Jazeera. Protected under India's Wildlife Protection Act, otters were once widely distributed across north India, including the Himalayan foothills, the Gangetic plains and parts of the northeast. A peer-reviewed study by IUCN in November last year noted that the Eurasian otter, known among Kashmiri locals as 'voddur', was found in water bodies of Lidder and Jehlum valleys, including Wular Lake, one of Asia's largest freshwater lakes. However, over the years, their population became 'patchy and fragmented due to habitat loss, pollution and human disturbances', says Khursheed Ahmad, a senior wildlife scientist at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K). Ahmad said that, due to habitat alterations from human activities and the encroachment of their ideal habitats along riverbanks and other water bodies, Eurasian otters retreated and became confined to areas that were least accessible to humans. 'Although they were not extinct, sightings and occurrences had become extremely rare and they were never documented,' said Ahmad, who heads the Division of Wildlife Sciences at SKUAST-K. Less than two years ago, a research team led by Ahmad accidentally stumbled on otters during a study on musk deer in Gurez, a valley of lush meadows and towering peaks split into two by the Kishanganga River along the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the Himalayas. Past midnight on August 6, 2023, two individual otters were captured in a riverine habitat at an altitude of 2,600 metres (8,530 feet) in the valley near the 330MW Kishanganga Hydro Electric Project built by India following a prolonged legal battle with Pakistan at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. After that sighting, the research team focused on documenting the presence of otters on the Indian side of Kashmir. 'Unfortunately, due to heavy disturbance from fishing and other local and paramilitary activities, no further presence was documented,' the IUCN study notes. Ahmed said Bhat's video is only the second photographic evidence of otters in Kashmir. 'Too terrified to go there' But in the large farming village of Hugam, comprising some 300 families, residents are both excited and worried. At the crack of dawn, Muneera Bano, a homemaker, wakes to the flutter of crows cawing furiously on the willow trees lining the tributary's banks outside her home in Hugam, located some 58km (36 miles) south of the main city of Srinagar. Bano has stopped washing clothes and utensils on the riverbank after the otter was discovered, something she had done for years. 'There are underwater caves [in the tributary], and it is hiding in one of them. When it comes out in the morning, crows see it and they start screaming. I am too terrified to go there,' she said. Bhat, the teenager who filmed the video, said he often used to bathe in the tributary's glacial waters and sometimes also caught fish. 'Now I can't even think about going there,' he said. The grainy video led to rumours about the presence of crocodiles in the tributary, prompting Indian wildlife officials to set up a camera trap, which confirmed that it was a Eurasian otter – also seen in Bhat's video – and not a crocodile. Some wildlife officials even bathed in the river in the presence of village elders to demonstrate that the water was completely safe. Although otters do not pose any threat to humans, they can turn unpredictable, especially when close to humans. But scientists say these animals can grow accustomed to the presence of humans. Wildlife biologist Prakash said rather than being scared or fearful, curiosity about otters can make them a sight to be enjoyed while watching them fish or swim. 'Otters are largely active around dawn, dusk and after dark, though they can sometimes be seen during daytime as well. Eurasian otters largely prey on fish, eels, and sometimes, waterfowl,' he said. Kashmiri farmer Wasim Ahmad remembers a summer day in the early 1990s when he was on the way back from school situated along the banks of Doodhganga, a major tributary of the Jhelum River. As Ahmad, now in his 40s, turned the corner, he saw a large procession of people walking jubilantly. One man was holding a dead otter while another was walking a dog on a leash. Bagh-e-Mehtab in Srinagar is home to a community of poachers who, in the past, made a living by selling skins of animals such as cats, otters, and other animals. With stricter animal welfare laws in force in India now, the community has given up the old profession. 'Our elders warned us that otters skinned the children and ate them raw,' said Ahmad, who was in ninth grade then. 'But as I grew up, I didn't come across even one person who was harmed by otters. It was basically a tactic to keep the children away from the river.' Ahmad, the wildlife scientist, said the reappearance of otters in Kashmir was a positive sign. 'Now we should see to it that the new habitat is protected from uncontrolled pollution, garbage accumulation, increased carbon emissions and habitat degradation. Addressing these challenges is crucial for their conservation and wellbeing,' he told Al Jazeera.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Omar's party goes unrepresented as party MP opts out of outreach trip
SRINAGAR: J&K's National Conference (NC) has no plans to nominate another representative for the all-party delegations briefing foreign nations and UN members about India's anti-terrorism position and after party MP Mian Altaf Ahmad declined to join the team currently visiting key countries. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now NC will not have political representation in any of the seven delegations. Centre had nominated the Anantnag–Rajouri MP for the delegation led by DMK MP Kanimozhi in his capacity as NC's parliamentary head, party sources said Sunday. The team includes Rajiv Rai (SP), Capt Brijesh Chowta (BJP), Prem Chand Gupta (RJD), and ambassador Jawed Ashraf. It was in Russia Saturday. Three politicians from J&K — (Democratic Progressive Azad Party), Mian Altaf (NC), and Ghulam Ali Khatana (BJP) — had been named for these outreach efforts. Altaf opted out as he is engaged with the annual religious ceremony of Hazrat Mian Nizamuddin Kiyanvi, popularly known as Baba Nagri, held in early June at Wangath in Kangan of Ganderbal district. The event draws thousands of devotees across J&K. A senior NC functionary said while the party was consulted and Altaf's consent was sought, the nomination was Centre's decision. 'Centre didn't ask us for his replacement after he declined,' the functionary said. 'Since he was nominated as parliamentary head, I don't think anyone else can represent NC now.' Tensions within NC also surfaced Sunday, as MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi accused party brass of yielding to Centre on . On X, Mehdi wrote: 'Oh leader! Either rise and speak up for your people, or step down, wear bangles, and remain confined to a palanquin.' The post appeared to target CM , who had earlier posted: 'Sunday musing. There are doers & there are talkers. That's why I don't talk as much as some people I know.' The internal rift became public during NC's working committee meeting on May 21, where Mehdi voiced frustration over lack of progress on restoring Article 370.
South China Morning Post
10-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Fears among India's farmers rise over US food imports crossing ‘red line'
India's heavily protected agricultural sector is emerging as a flashpoint in trade talks with the United States, with analysts warning that opening the market to American food imports could endanger small Indian farmers and New Delhi's long-standing food security policies. Advertisement Recent reports suggest that India has offered to US President Donald Trump, who previously labelled the country as 'tariff king', to eliminate levies on steel, auto components and pharmaceuticals on a reciprocal basis, up to a specified quota. However, the US is reportedly pressuring New Delhi to also ease restrictions on its agricultural sector to allow greater access for American farm exports. Washington has long sought to open up India's agricultural sector, viewing it as a major trade opportunity, according to analysts. Yet India has fiercely defended its sector, citing food security and the livelihoods of millions of small farmers. A farmer works in a paddy field in Anantnag district, south of Srinagar, on May 6. Agriculture accounts for 16 per cent of India's gross domestic product. Photo: AFP The challenge for India is that most Indian farmers are small-scale producers, making the sector highly sensitive to external pressures, according to Biswajit Dhar, a trade expert from the Delhi-based Council for Social Development think tank. Advertisement
Hans India
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Hans India
KIYG 2025: J&K volleyball team lifts spirits with hard-fought gold
Patna: At a time when the Kashmir valley is facing air strikes and drone attacks following the heartbreaking Pahalgam terror attacks, four young boys from the region have offered a different storyline, with an amalgam of courage, resilience, focus and gold. At the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) 2025 Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir boys' volleyball team opened the State's account in the medal tally with a gold by defeating Uttar Pradesh 3-1 in a hard-fought final. The score line reading 35-33, 19-25, 25-17, 25-21 tells its own story of a gripping contest, but the real story lies in the hearts of the players who made it happen. Wani Mahir (Srinagar), Sahil Shamim (Anantnag), Abid Gulzar (Ganderbal), and Nasir Ajaz (Baramulla), as well as their teammates, carried more than just the hopes of their team; they carried the weight of a land scarred by conflict. Just a couple of weeks before the final, the Pahalgam terror attack on innocent tourists had left the valley shaken. Yet here they were, blocking, spiking, diving - playing not with fear, but with fire. Coach Naresh Kumar, a seasoned mentor who had helped J&K to bronze at past school games, called it a 'victory of heart'. Crediting the hard work put in by his boys in the past couple of months, he expressed confidence on them, saying this is just the beginning and they have a long career ahead. 'This win means everything. Back home, people needed something to feel proud of again. We wanted to give them that,' Abid Gulzar, his voice calm but reflecting his pride, told SAI Media. Wani Mahir, who has already donned the Indian jersey at the U-18 Asian Championships in Bahrain, said that the team wanted to bring something positive back home. Mahir and Nasir, both products of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre at Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu, have been training alongside senior players, refining their skills for moments like these. Meanwhile, Abid Gulzar and Sahil Shammim have relied on support from home. For Abid, the sport runs in his blood. Coached by his father, Shamim Ahmed, a former India player, Abid honed his skills in his backyard, learning the game from the ground up. Sahil has risen through local circuits, far from the facilities of big cities, but never short on ambition. From makeshift courts to national podiums, their journey speaks volumes. 'We hope our story shows that even in difficult times, something beautiful can rise,' said Sahil. As the players hoisted their medals, it wasn't just a victory on court, it was a triumph of hope, determination and youth daring to dream high above the net.
