The Power of Imagery

 

Ten years ago, in Jan 2015, Bopanna Pattada posted a photograph of the small clawed otter from Coorg, probably the first such photo of the species (though I am far from sure of that) from this charmingly different district in the Western Ghats. As you can see, this is an outstanding image - not just for its clarity but also because there are two otters, one swimming below the other!  This is a species that is impossibly hard to see in the wild, let alone capture on camera, which adds to the aura of the photo.  This image stayed at the back of my mind, it never went away. 

The small clawed otter is the world's smallest otter and is delightfully reclusive. It is the apex predator in small stream ecosystems, dexterous and fabulously adaptable to the seasonally variations of the Western Ghats.Little is known about this animal except that its population had declined in most parts where it is found by about 30% since the 1990s, a key reason being the loss of its habitat. 

We had just begun a program on the conservation of smooth coated otters at the time and had enough on our plate, yet as I stared at this photo, I promised myself that one day we would work in Coorg to conserve the small clawed otter.  Years later, we began and failed.  And then we began again.  

The conservation program in the Brahmagiris in Coorg is now in its third year and the experience – hues of every colour – has been memorable and fascinating. 

All because of an outstanding unforgettable photograph.