Advocating for otter conservation: a global project with local realizations - Review Part II

The Otter is a Cunning and Evil Beast - Review
Nemo and his relatives now and in the past

Respectfully submitted to Otter News and written by Béatrice Dumiche

Photo courtesy Wolfgang Gettmann

The role of the IUCN for global awareness of otters

          

The exhibition, which had a restricted space of 130 square meters across three rooms, was based on an ambitious scientific concept but there was also pleasure in simply walking around and stopping at the particular exhibits one found appealing: visitors were invited to collect knowledge opportunistically, like the otters, the tracks of whom we follow through Wolfgang Gettmann’s scenography. Many basic facts about the biology of otters were provided but it was always emphasized that while it is important to learn and understand these facts, it is far more complex to relate it to practical experience, particularly in our modern world's reality where remaining in touch with wildlife has become the exception. It was necessary to find a presentation that would reach attendee’s imaginations: it combined factual data with some striking significant items and documents showing the ways in which the prejudices against otters fit into an obsolete conception of nature where superstitions ruled and led to the intensive hunting of the animal due to a mixture of religious beliefs and economic interests. Moreover, the real challenge was to provide alternative imagery showing biologic criteria and opposing statements previously reinforced by scientifically unjustified affiliations to other species relying on superficial resemblances, such as squirrels. The exhibition defined the common traits of the thirteen presently known otter species on the basis of comparative knowledge resulting from critical observation. It explained their adaptation to different environments and the ecological issues which caused their vulnerable near threatened or endangered IUCN status.

Photo courtesy Wolfgang Gettmann

This approach demystified the cliché of the otter as a beast as it presented them as they truly are: it described them from a scientific perspective and situated each species in the geographic context of their natural habitat. This brought awareness to the way in which their image has been manipulated for decades via popularization campaigns at a national and international level indicating that there has been an evolution in the way we consider them, and wildlife as a whole, thanks to the work of the United Nations. Independent information validated by multidisciplinary scientific institutions has progressively replaced the confusion created by mythical descriptions which were mostly conveying local legends and fictitious representations influenced by ignorance and fear. Many examples of publications by specialists who are members of the IUCN specialist group illustrate the progress accomplished through concrete investigations in situ providing accurate data for initiating conservationist action and educational missions worldwide. The most striking sign of this fundamental evolution in the animal’s image is the difference in the media used to raise awareness because, instead of hazardous imagery through popular arts, the scientific popularization appeals to artists who were commissioned officially to create pictures promoting their protection.

Gettmann had the idea to use the principal symbols of these campaigns – stamps and coins ‒ to structure his exhibition as they combine biology and aesthetics with the notion of collectible valuables and underline how precious the featured animals are viewed to be as they have been selected to represent the national or even the natural world heritage. His incredibly large personal collections testify to the increasing interest in otters and that knowledge about them has been spread thanks to international awareness programs favoring scientific exchanges while augmenting their popularity through these symbols. Many stamps were displayed from the countries native to the different otter species, illustrating their distribution across the four continents they inhabit – they are absent from Oceania and the Antarctic ‒ with their specific characteristics mentioned on large panels providing more detailed information.

It seems that otters have become an international concern as several stamps have been issued for nature preservation actions not only at a local level but also in coordination with the United Nations through IUCN. Those preservation campaigns have played a determining role in bringing awareness to scientific standards. One set of stamps depicts, for example, the natural family, the mustelids, within their larger ecosystem. Seeing this allowed one to consider their existence in the context of larger natural interdependencies. It illustrated that globalization of conservation efforts can exist if local initiatives are supported through a multidisciplinary dialogue that backs them scientifically and symbolically, if not financially. It highlighted that education has many forms and that it is always possible to promote a cause if there is a will to do so. The exhibition revealed that some small countries, not among the wealthiest in the world, have done a lot to raise attention to their local species with special editions of stamps and coins which may also have been used to raise funds for specific ecological projects.

The precious role of individual local initiatives

Public resources alone can not generally finance endangered species programs like those dedicated to otter conservation. Their success depends on donations and volunteer involvement through charities that work to protect the otters directly at their habitats. Some organizations have played a determining role, for instance in Africa and in South America where they spread the knowledge about the role of otters in our ecological system, focussing especially on education in schools so that children, in turn, could teach their parents and convince them that it was necessary to protect the animals. Thus, many books and documents on exhibit educated on initiatives such as Rita Chapman’s in the Democratic Republic of Congo with her famous otter ambassador Mazu, which she reared and successfully returned to the wild after its mother had been killed. The team around her did a great job advocating for the protection of the Congo clawless otter, educating the inhabitants of the local village while acquiring precious practical knowledge of how to rear this endangered species. These competencies led them to become recognized rehabilitation professionals for rescue cases in the Congo and beyond its borders.

The “Proyecto Lontra felina" in Peru, supported by the Aquazoo and the Zoo Nuremberg, took the path of defending the cause of the marine otter, an animal that had remained mostly unnoticed as it stays primarily in rock holes and in the sea. The economic development of the country is now threatening this species, which is the smallest marine mammal native to the region. Coastal tourism is destroying its habitat and the maritime fishery has increased, using nets which are life threatening for the animals. A Peruvian/German biologist, Dr. Juan Valquì, who is studying specimen in situ, has launched a fundraising campaign with the primary goal of educating children. Valquì plans for the construction of a museum dedicated to the conservation of marine otters, which have long lived along the coast of Peru, and their importance for the preservation of the natural balance in the area. The goal of his project is to show that re-establishing the link between the local population and the original fauna of regions risking over-exploitation of their natural resources is more than an ecological necessity. It is also a cultural act to preserve local identity. The fundraising campaign was founded as an effort to demonstrate that money should not be the only entity of value and that natural heritage is priceless and must be defended to keep self-appreciation in the context of a globally ruling economy. It showed that scientific conservation projects must also appeal to cultural values to create a lasting impression and invert the dynamic of short-term exploitation of natural resources. One of the local biologists sewed 500 felt otter key rings which held great symbolism as they represented a personal act of a local citizen defending area wildlife and thus giving it a concrete cultural meaning beyond the potentially intangible idea of the conservational goal. She highlighted through artisan work, in the style of the country’s craftsmanship and made with local supplies, that the protection of the native otter population is as important to cultural tradition as the protection of local arts and creative skills. These handmade key rings were an immense success both locally and abroad.

Photo courtesy Wolfgang Gettmann

Gettmann’s exhibit juxtaposed different items and documents, illustrating that each of them – even the tiniest – have their importance in a human context. Global evolution generates many inequalities and requires specifically adapted conservatory solutions for each of the different otter species and ‒ possibly more importantly – cultural discernment and tact. Gettmann invited the visitor to browse around as though in an ancient cabinet of curiosities or “wunderkammer". Throughout the exhibition, he transmitted his rich personal experience in the preservation of otters’ lives through a mosaic of initiatives adapting to a wide variety of situations and interests as they relied on local acceptance in the areas they were aiming to affect. He made it clear that the close link between education and affection is motivation for more than just a serene cohabitation with otters: it is part of defining a modern cultural identity structuring the plurality with the tolerance inherited from the great epochs for the development of philosophy and natural sciences: the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Thus, his exhibition was a bet on the future using the resources of human civilization from the past: it expressed his conviction that mankind is capable of finding its way back symbolically to a spiritual community with respect for predatory animals and where a consciously accepted cohabitation replaces the existential fight for hunting grounds of pre-industrial civilizations.

While showing that otters’ preservation is a challenge for natural and ecological sciences, Gettmann transmitted the idea that it cannot succeed without first acknowledging our mythical relation to nature, then readjusting with knowledge gained from scientific observation and experimentation over the last three centuries. There is no false nostalgia or misled idealism in his approach: he attempted to show that it is indispensable for the global balance of our eco-system and our personal psychic well-being to overcome the artificial gap, present since the Enlightenment era, between reason and affection which has led to the predominance of humans using science to justify the exploitation of natural resources.  It stressed that common sense and much human and scientific understanding are required in order to advocate for landscape renaturation in favor of the otter against the representatives of the multiple lobbies defending immediate human interests, considered the unquestionable priority for centuries. Gettmann argued that the animal’s come-back and its conservation in situ will only be successful if the reality of the issues it generates are not denied. There must be action taken by wildlife experts at a local level to give practical advice in the case of conflict or concern. This will aid in avoiding the resurgence of ancient prejudices that could counteract education efforts requiring consistency to be effective.

Photo courtesy Wolfgang Gettmann

The North American success in saving sea otters

While individual initiatives are well-meaning and helpful on a small-scale, they are not enough to change opinions in favor of a predator on a larger scale. Money and lobbying are indispensable in the fight for the protection of endangered species and for their conservation to be enforced by law. The conservation efforts in South America, where research on marine otters is at beginning stages and where there are not yet relevant zoo exhibits or reproduction programs, contrast greatly with North American programs. There have been the tremendous joint effort of private foundations and aquariums in collaboration with the local and national authorities to conserve the North American sea otter population, previously almost eradicated due to intensive fur hunting and the fishing industry.  Although Gettmann’s exhibition was primarily focused on Europe, the showcase dedicated to North American sea otters as a conservation success story helped display the economic power behind it. This gave an idea of the synergy of advertising and pedagogical strategies required to spread information on a large scale, which is necessary to make this issue a general concern.
The display on sea otter conservation efforts in North America could have been extended to offer a larger and more detailed survey of the actions taken, which have led to quick and widespread positive change. The confirmation of the role sea otters play as a key species in the conservation of kelp forests, feeding on the urchins that threaten them, has led to a wider understanding of the importance of eco-diversity. The exhibit overall did not detail the sea otter's precarious situation resulting from their vulnerability to environmental disasters like oil spills or eco-systemic disorders such as the increase in shark attacks, which keeps them an endangered species.

Most of the display seemed to be personal souvenirs gathered by Gettmann from international events dedicated to sea otters, organized by American aquariums. When compared with the European exhibits the exemplarity of their conception of forward-thinking communication and strategies in fundraising and disseminating information is clear. However, the items gave no indication of the more complex interferences between research and field experiences, though perhaps those concepts are difficult to document in the form of an engaging exhibit. It is appreciable that these exceptional conservation successes were presented through core materials demonstrating that well-reflected action and the collaboration between public and private institutions are able to give determining impulses which, beyond the rescue of a species, generate a whole new sector of eco-tourism and further research of oceanic resources.

Gettmann wearing a treasured t-shirt

Otter News would like to thank Clare Laughran for her editing of the review.