In the dark of the night, two otters swim in circles around a fishing boat. As the fishermen lower their bamboo-framed net into the estuarine waters of the Sunderbans, the short-haired animals squeak and dive in with a soft splash.
The malojele and the otter
In the Khulna and Noraile districts of Southwestern Bangladesh thrives an ancient practice that directly supports a community of two thousand individuals. The fishermen, locally known as malojele, hold no lands for cultivation and solely sustain themselves and their families by fishing with a hundred and seventy-six webbed-footed smooth-coated otters.
These sleek brown animals, with curious little whiskered faces and a thick rudder-like tail, form the identity and livelihood of these communities. Lutrogale perspicillata, as their scientific name goes, is a species indigenous to South-East Asia. These fish specialists are pack hunters and travel in a V-formation as they swim upstream, trapping the shoals as they swim.
Their deft tactics make them prime competition for fishermen across the sub-continent. In many areas, compensation schemes have been established to stop them from employing harsher methods. Yet, in the muddy delta of Sunderbans, the malojele have devised a way to use these nimble creatures to their advantage.
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