CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=7YQSqjSh" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://www.bbc.com:80/earth/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink","20170804104250","https://web.archive.org/","web","https://web-static.archive.org/_static/", "1501843370"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=p7PEIJWi" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1"> <title>BBC - Earth - Conservation success for otters on the brink</title> <meta name="keywords" content="story, STORY, story, image, conservation, "> <meta name="description" content="All over the world otter populations have been hanging in the balance, but two very different approaches have been successful in saving the species"> <meta name="author" content="Jeremy Coles"> <meta property="og:title" content="Conservation success for otters on the brink"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink"/> <meta property="og:description" content="All over the world otter populations have been hanging in the balance, but two very different approaches have been successful in saving the species"/> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@BBCEarth"> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Conservation success for otters on the brink"> <meta name="twitter:description" content="All over the world otter populations have been hanging in the balance, but two very different approaches have been successful in saving the species"> <meta property="og:author" content="Jeremy Coles"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250im_/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/live/624_351/images/live/p0/56/cj/p056cj5w.jpg"/> <meta property="og:image:width" content="624"/> <meta property="og:image:height" content="351"/> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250im_/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/live/624_351/images/live/p0/56/cj/p056cj5w.jpg"> <script> window.getUriParamByName=function(name) { name = name.replace(/[\[]/, "\\[").replace(/[\]]/, "\\]"); var regex = new RegExp("[\\?&]" + name + "=([^&#]*)"); var results = regex.exec(window.location.search); return (results === null ? "" : decodeURIComponent(results[1].replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9\-_]/g, ''))); } var digitalData= {"environment":"live","pageInstanceID":"www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink","module":{"id":"wwearth","backendModuleId":"wwearth","isGeoRestricted":false,"name":"Earth","domain":"earth","brandColor":"#008e9b","description":"BBC Earth"},"page":{"attributes":{"country":"GB","language":"en-GB"},"pageInfo":{"affiliate":false,"author":"Jeremy Coles","pageID":"wwearth/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink","shortPageID":"conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink","pageName":"Conservation success for otters on the brink","description":"All over the world otter populations have been hanging in the balance, but two very different approaches have been successful in saving the species","partner":false,"publicationDate":"2017-06-20T08:58:57.100223Z","business-unit":"BBC.com","destinationURL":"","bodyTextCharacterLength":6333},"keywords":{"pageType":"story","STORY":"1","asset_type":"story","media":"image","tags":["conservation"],"destination":[]},"tags":["story","STORY","story","image",["conservation"],[]],"category":{"pageType":"story","STORY":"1","asset_type":"story","media":"image","tags":["conservation"],"destination":[],"entityFactory":{"entities":{}},"column":false,"primaryCategory":"earth","section":false,"horizontal":false,"supersection":false}}}; digitalData.page.pageInfo.ocid=getUriParamByName('ocid'); digitalData.page.pageInfo.icid=getUriParamByName('icid'); digitalData.page.pageInfo.referrer=document.referrer; </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250cs_/http://www.bbc.com/earth/static/80639ec75e40/css/wwearth/core.css"/> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"/> <meta property="fb:admins" content="100004154058350"/>  <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250cs_/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.21.24/orb/4/style/orb.min.css">    <script class="js-require-lib" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250js_/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/requirejs/lib.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> bbcRequireMap = {"jquery-1":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/jquery/0.4.1/sharedmodules/jquery-1.7.2", "jquery-1.4":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/jquery/0.4.1/sharedmodules/jquery-1.4", "jquery-1.9":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/jquery/0.4.1/sharedmodules/jquery-1.9.1", "jquery-1.12":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/jquery/0.4.1/sharedmodules/jquery-1.12.0.min", "jquery-2.2":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/jquery/0.4.1/sharedmodules/jquery-2.2.0.min", "istats-1":"//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://nav.files.bbci.co.uk/nav-analytics/0.1.0-43/js/istats-1", "swfobject-2":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/swfobject/0.1.10/sharedmodules/swfobject-2", "demi-1":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/demi/0.10.1/sharedmodules/demi-1", "gelui-1":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/gelui/0.9.13/sharedmodules/gelui-1", "cssp!gelui-1/overlay":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/gelui/0.9.13/sharedmodules/gelui-1/overlay.css", "relay-1":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/relay/0.2.6/sharedmodules/relay-1", "clock-1":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/clock/0.1.9/sharedmodules/clock-1", "canvas-clock-1":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/clock/0.1.9/sharedmodules/canvas-clock-1", "cssp!clock-1":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/clock/0.1.9/sharedmodules/clock-1.css", "jssignals-1":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/jssignals/0.3.6/modules/jssignals-1", "jcarousel-1":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/jcarousel/0.1.10/modules/jcarousel-1", "bump-3":"//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://emp.bbci.co.uk/emp/bump-3/bump-3"}; require({ baseUrl: 'https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/', paths: bbcRequireMap, waitSeconds: 30 }); </script> <script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/ if (typeof bbccookies_flag === 'undefined') { bbccookies_flag = 'ON'; } showCTA_flag = true; cta_enabled = (showCTA_flag && (bbccookies_flag === 'ON')); (function(){var m="ckns_policy",q="Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT",i={ads:true,personalisation:true,performance:true,necessary:true};function c(u){if(c.cache[u]){return c.cache[u]}var t=u.split("/"),v=[""];do{v.unshift((t.join("/")||"/"));t.pop()}while(v[0]!=="/");c.cache[u]=v;return v}c.cache={};function a(u){if(a.cache[u]){return a.cache[u]}var v=u.split("."),t=[];while(v.length&&"|co.uk|com|".indexOf("|"+v.join(".")+"|")===-1){if(v.length){t.push(v.join("."))}v.shift()}c.cache[u]=t;return t}a.cache={};function s(t,y,u){var E=[""].concat(a(window.location.hostname)),B=c(window.location.pathname),D="",w,C;for(var x=0,A=E.length;x<A;x++){w=E[x];for(var v=0,z=B.length;v<z;v++){C=B[v];D=t+"="+y+";"+(w?"domain="+w+";":"")+(C?"path="+C+";":"")+(u?"expires="+u+";":"");bbccookies.set(D,true)}}}window.bbccookies={POLICY_REFRESH_DATE_MILLIS:new Date(2015,4,21,0,0,0,0).getTime(),POLICY_EXPIRY_COOKIENAME:"ckns_policy_exp",_setEverywhere:s,cookiesEnabled:function(){var t="ckns_testcookie"+Math.floor(Math.random()*100000);this.set(t+"=1");if(this.get().indexOf(t)>-1){e(t);return true}return false},get:function(){return document.cookie},getCrumb:function(t){if(!t){return null}return decodeURIComponent(document.cookie.replace(new RegExp("(?:(?:^|.*;)\\s*"+encodeURIComponent(t).replace(/[\-\.\+\*]/g,"\\$&")+"\\s*\\=\\s*([^;]*).*$)|^.*$"),"$1"))||null},policyRequiresRefresh:function(){var u=new Date();u.setHours(0);u.setMinutes(0);u.setSeconds(0);u.setMilliseconds(0);if(bbccookies.POLICY_REFRESH_DATE_MILLIS<=u.getTime()){var t=bbccookies.getCrumb(bbccookies.POLICY_EXPIRY_COOKIENAME);if(t){t=new Date(parseInt(t));t.setYear(t.getFullYear()-1);return bbccookies.POLICY_REFRESH_DATE_MILLIS>=t.getTime()}else{return true}}else{return false}},_setPolicy:function(t){return f.apply(this,arguments)},readPolicy:function(){return l.apply(this,arguments)},_deletePolicy:function(){s(m,"",q)},_isConfirmed:function(){return n()!==null},_acceptsAll:function(){var t=l();return t&&!(j(t).indexOf("0")>-1)},_getCookieName:function(){return b.apply(this,arguments)},_showPrompt:function(){var t=((!this._isConfirmed()||this.policyRequiresRefresh())&&window.cta_enabled&&this.cookiesEnabled()&&!window.bbccookies_disable);return(window.orb&&window.orb.fig)?t&&(window.orb.fig("no")||window.orb.fig("ck")):t},_getPolicy:this.readPolicy};function b(u){var t=(""+u).match(/^([^=]+)(?==)/);return(t&&t.length?t[0]:"")}function j(t){return""+(t.ads?1:0)+(t.personalisation?1:0)+(t.performance?1:0)}function f(x){if(typeof x==="undefined"){x=i}if(typeof arguments[0]==="string"){var u=arguments[0],w=arguments[1];if(u==="necessary"){w=true}x=l();x[u]=w}else{if(typeof arguments[0]==="object"){x.necessary=true}}var v=new Date();v.setYear(v.getFullYear()+1);bbccookies.set(m+"="+j(x)+";domain=bbc.co.uk;path=/;expires="+v.toUTCString()+";");bbccookies.set(m+"="+j(x)+";domain=bbc.com;path=/;expires="+v.toUTCString()+";");bbccookies.set(m+"="+j(x)+";domain=bbci.co.uk;path=/;expires="+v.toUTCString()+";");var t=new Date(v.getTime());t.setMonth(t.getMonth()+1);bbccookies.set(bbccookies.POLICY_EXPIRY_COOKIENAME+"="+v.getTime()+";domain=bbc.co.uk;path=/;expires="+t.toUTCString()+";");bbccookies.set(bbccookies.POLICY_EXPIRY_COOKIENAME+"="+v.getTime()+";domain=bbc.com;path=/;expires="+t.toUTCString()+";");bbccookies.set(bbccookies.POLICY_EXPIRY_COOKIENAME+"="+v.getTime()+";domain=bbci.co.uk;path=/;expires="+t.toUTCString()+";");return x}function o(t){if(t===null){return null}var u=t.split("");return{ads:!!+u[0],personalisation:!!+u[1],performance:!!+u[2],necessary:true}}function n(){var t=new RegExp("(?:^|; ?)"+m+"=(\\d\\d\\d)($|;)"),u=document.cookie.match(t);if(!u){return null}return u[1]}function l(t){var u=o(n());if(!u){u=i}if(t){return u[t]}else{return u}}function e(t){return document.cookie=t+"=;expires="+q+";"}var g=!(window.bbccookies_flag==="ON"&&!bbccookies._acceptsAll()&&!window.bbccookies_disable);var k={},d={"personalisation":"ckps_.+|X-AB-iplayer-.+|ACTVTYMKR|BBC_EXAMPLE_COOKIE|BBCIplayer|BBCiPlayerM|BBCIplayerSession|BBCMediaselector|BBCPostcoder|bbctravel|CGISESSID|ed|food-view|forceDesktop|h4|IMRID|locserv|MyLang|myloc|NTABS|ttduserPrefs|V5|WEATHER|BBCScienceDiscoveryPlaylist_.+|bitratePref|correctAnswerCount|genreCookie|highestQuestionScore|incorrectAnswerCount|longestStreak|MSCSProfile|programmes-oap-expanded|quickestAnswer|score|servicePanel|slowestAnswer|totalTimeForAllFormatted|v|BBCwords|score|correctAnswerCount|highestQuestionScore|hploc|BGUID|BBCWEACITY|mstouch|myway|BBCNewsCustomisation|cbbc_anim|cbeebies_snd|bbcsr_usersx|cbeebies_rd|BBC-Latest_Blogs|zh-enc|pref_loc|m|bbcEmp.+|recs-.+|_lvd2|_lvs2|tick|_fcap_CAM1|_rcc2","performance":"ckpf_.+|optimizely.*|BBCLiveStatsClick|id|_em_.+|cookies_enabled|mbox|mbox-admin|mc_.+|omniture_unique|s_.+|sc_.+|adpolicyAdDisplayFrequency|s1|ns_session|ns_cookietest|ns_ux|NO-SA|tr_pr1|gvsurvey|bbcsurvey|si_v|sa_labels|obuid|mm_.+|mmid|mmcore.+|mmpa.+","ads":"ckad_.+|rsi_segs|c","necessary":"ckns_.+|BBC-UID|blq\\.dPref|SSO2-UID|BBC-H2-User|rmRpDetectReal|bbcComSurvey|IDENTITY_ENV|IDENTITY|IDENTITY-HTTPS|IDENTITY_SESSION|BBCCOMMENTSMODULESESSID|bbcBump.+|IVOTE_VOTE_HISTORY|pulse|BBCPG|BBCPGstat|ecos\\.dt"};function r(){var x=document.cookie.replace(/; +/g,";").split(";"),u,v=[];for(var w=0,t=x.length;w<t;w++){u=x[w];v.push(bbccookies._getCookieName(u))}return v}function h(w){var v=JSON.stringify(w);if(typeof(k[v])!=="undefined"){return k[v]}var u="";for(var t in w){if(w.hasOwnProperty(t)&&d[t]){if(w[t]===true){u+=(u?"|":"")+d[t]}}}k[v]=new RegExp("^("+(u?u:".*")+")$","i");return k[v]}bbccookies.getPolicyExpiryDateTime=function(){return bbccookies.POLICY_EXPIRY_COOKIENAME};bbccookies.purge=function(){var u=bbccookies.readPolicy(),w=r(),x;for(var v=0,t=w.length;v<t;v++){if(!bbccookies.isAllowed(w[v],u)){x=new Date();x.setTime(0);x=x.toUTCString();s(w[v],"deleted",x)}}};function p(){if(g){return}bbccookies.purge();contentLoaded(window,bbccookies.purge);if(window.addEventListener){window.addEventListener("beforeunload",bbccookies.purge,false)}else{if(window.attachEvent){window.attachEvent("onbeforeunload",bbccookies.purge)}else{window.onbeforeunload=bbccookies.purge}}}bbccookies.set=function(u,t){if(g){return document.cookie=u}var v=bbccookies._getCookieName(u);if(t||bbccookies.isAllowed(v)){return document.cookie=u}return null};bbccookies.isAllowed=function(v){var u=bbccookies.readPolicy();var t=h(u);return t.test(v)};p()})(); /*! * contentloaded.js * * Author: Diego Perini (diego.perini at gmail.com) * Summary: cross-browser wrapper for DOMContentLoaded * Updated: 20101020 * License: MIT * Version: 1.2 * * URL: * http://javascript.nwbox.com/ContentLoaded/ * http://javascript.nwbox.com/ContentLoaded/MIT-LICENSE * */ function contentLoaded(d,i){var c=false,h=true,k=d.document,j=k.documentElement,a=k.addEventListener,n=a?"addEventListener":"attachEvent",l=a?"removeEventListener":"detachEvent",b=a?"":"on",m=function(o){if(o.type==="readystatechange"&&k.readyState!="complete"){return}(o.type==="load"?d:k)[l](b+o.type,m,false);if(!c&&(c=true)){i.call(d,o.type||o)}},g=function(){try{j.doScroll("left")}catch(o){setTimeout(g,50);return}m("poll")};if(k.readyState==="complete"){i.call(d,"lazy")}else{if(!a&&j.doScroll){try{h=!d.frameElement}catch(f){}if(h){g()}}k[n](b+"DOMContentLoaded",m,false);k[n](b+"readystatechange",m,false);d[n](b+"load",m,false)}}if(typeof(require)==="function"&&!require.defined("orb/cookies")){define("orb/cookies",window.bbccookies)}; /*]]>*/</script> <script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/ (function(){window.orb={};window.orb.figState={ad:0,ap:0,ck:1,eu:1,mb:0,tb:0,uk:1,df:1};window.orb.fig=function(a){return(arguments.length)?window.orb.figState[a]:window.orb.figState};window.orb.fig.device={};window.orb.fig.geo={};window.orb.fig.user={};window.orb.fig.isDefault=function(){return window.orb.fig("df")};window.orb.fig.device.isTablet=function(){return window.orb.fig("tb")};window.orb.fig.device.isMobile=function(){return window.orb.fig("mb")};window.orb.fig.geo.isUK=function(){return window.orb.fig("uk")};window.orb.fig.geo.isEU=function(){return window.orb.fig("eu")};window.fig=window.fig||{};window.fig.manager={include:function(e){e=e||window;var g=false;var j=e.document,k=j.cookie,i=k.match(/(?:^|; ?)ckns_orb_fig=([^;]+)/),h;if(i){i=this.deserialise(decodeURIComponent(RegExp.$1));this.setFig(e,i)}if(window.fig.async&&typeof JSON!="undefined"){var b=(document.cookie.match("(^|; )ckns_orb_cachedfig=([^;]*)")||0)[2];h=b?JSON.parse(b):null;if(h){this.setFig(e,h);g=true}}var a="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://fig.bbc.co.uk/frameworks/fig/1/fig.js";if(g){j.write('<script src="'+a+'" async><'+"/script>")}else{j.write('<script src="'+a+'"><'+"/script>")}},confirm:function(a){return true},setFig:function(a,b){(function(){a.orb=a.orb||{};a.orb.figState=b})()},deserialise:function(b){var a={};b.replace(/([a-z]{2}):([0-9]+)/g,function(){a[RegExp.$1]=+RegExp.$2});return a}}})();fig.manager.include();/*]]>*/</script>  <script type="text/javascript">window.bbcFlagpoles_istats="ON",require.config({paths:{"istats-1":"//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://nav.files.bbci.co.uk/nav-analytics/0.1.0-72/js/istats-1","megavolt-client":"//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://nav.files.bbci.co.uk/nav-analytics/0.1.0-72/js/megavolt-client"}}),require.defined("orb/cookies")||(window.bbccookies?define("orb/cookies",function(){return window.bbccookies}):define("orb/cookies",function(){return{isAllowed:function(e){return!1}}})),require(["megavolt-client","istats-1","orb/cookies"],function(e,t,o){if(o.isAllowed("s1")){e.setMegavoltUrl("https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://mvt.api.bbc.com");e.setMegavoltTimeout("1000");t.addCollector({name:"default",url:"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://sa.bbc.co.uk/bbc/bbc/s",separator:"&"});var i="earth.story.20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink.page";t.setCountername(i),window.istats_countername&&t.setCountername(window.istats_countername),t.addLabels("ml_name=webmodule&ml_version=72")}});</script> <script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/ window.bbcFlagpoles_istats = 'ON'; window.orb = window.orb || {}; if (typeof bbccookies !== 'undefined' && bbccookies.isAllowed('s1')) { var istatsTrackingUrl = '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://sa.bbc.co.uk/bbc/bbc/s?name=earth.story.20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink.page&pal_route=webserviceapi&app_type=responsive&language=en-GB&pal_webapp=barlesque&prod_name=frameworks&app_name=frameworks'; require(['istats-1'], function (istats) { var counterName = (window.istats_countername) ? window.istats_countername : istatsTrackingUrl.match(/[\?&]name=([^&]*)/i)[1]; istats.setCountername(counterName); istats.addLabels('pal_route=webserviceapi&app_type=responsive&language=en-GB&pal_webapp=barlesque&prod_name=frameworks&app_name=frameworks'); var c = (document.cookie.match(/\bckns_policy=(\d\d\d)/) || []).pop() || ''; istats.addLabels({ 'blq_s': '4d', 'blq_r': '2.7', 'blq_v': 'default', 'blq_e': 'pal', 'bbc_mc': (c ? 'ad' + c.charAt(0) + 'ps' + c.charAt(1) + 'pf' + c.charAt(2) : 'not_set') } ); }); } /*]]>*/</script> <script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/ (function(undefined){if(!window.bbc){window.bbc={}}var ROLLING_PERIOD_DAYS=30;window.bbc.Mandolin=function(id,segments,opts){var now=new Date().getTime(),storedItem,DEFAULT_START=now,DEFAULT_RATE=1,COOKIE_NAME="ckpf_mandolin";opts=opts||{};this._id=id;this._segmentSet=segments;this._store=new window.window.bbc.Mandolin.Storage(COOKIE_NAME);this._opts=opts;this._rate=(opts.rate!==undefined)?+opts.rate:DEFAULT_RATE;this._startTs=(opts.start!==undefined)?new Date(opts.start).getTime():new Date(DEFAULT_START).getTime();this._endTs=(opts.end!==undefined)?new Date(opts.end).getTime():daysFromNow(ROLLING_PERIOD_DAYS);this._signupEndTs=(opts.signupEnd!==undefined)?new Date(opts.signupEnd).getTime():this._endTs;this._segment=null;if(typeof id!=="string"){throw new Error("Invalid Argument: id must be defined and be a string")}if(Object.prototype.toString.call(segments)!=="[object Array]"){throw new Error("Invalid Argument: Segments are required.")}if(opts.rate!==undefined&&(opts.rate<0||opts.rate>1)){throw new Error("Invalid Argument: Rate must be between 0 and 1.")}if(this._startTs>this._endTs){throw new Error("Invalid Argument: end date must occur after start date.")}if(!(this._startTs<this._signupEndTs&&this._signupEndTs<=this._endTs)){throw new Error("Invalid Argument: SignupEnd must be between start and end date")}removeExpired.call(this,now);var overrides=window.bbccookies.get().match(/ckns_mandolin_setSegments=([^;]+)/);if(overrides!==null){eval("overrides = "+decodeURIComponent(RegExp.$1)+";");if(overrides[this._id]&&this._segmentSet.indexOf(overrides[this._id])==-1){throw new Error("Invalid Override: overridden segment should exist in segments array")}}if(overrides!==null&&overrides[this._id]){this._segment=overrides[this._id]}else{if((storedItem=this._store.getItem(this._id))){this._segment=storedItem.segment}else{if(this._startTs<=now&&now<this._signupEndTs&&now<=this._endTs&&this._store.isEnabled()===true){this._segment=pick(segments,this._rate);if(opts.end===undefined){this._store.setItem(this._id,{segment:this._segment})}else{this._store.setItem(this._id,{segment:this._segment,end:this._endTs})}log.call(this,"mandolin_segment")}}}log.call(this,"mandolin_view")};window.bbc.Mandolin.prototype.getSegment=function(){return this._segment};function log(actionType,params){var that=this;require(["istats-1"],function(istats){istats.log(actionType,that._id+":"+that._segment,params?params:{})})}function removeExpired(expires){var items=this._store.getItems(),expiresInt=+expires;for(var key in items){if(items[key].end!==undefined&&+items[key].end<expiresInt){this._store.removeItem(key)}}}function getLastExpirationDate(data){var winner=0,rollingExpire=daysFromNow(ROLLING_PERIOD_DAYS);for(var key in data){if(data[key].end===undefined&&rollingExpire>winner){winner=rollingExpire}else{if(+data[key].end>winner){winner=+data[key].end}}}return(winner)?new Date(winner):new Date(rollingExpire)}window.bbc.Mandolin.prototype.log=function(params){log.call(this,"mandolin_log",params)};window.bbc.Mandolin.prototype.convert=function(params){log.call(this,"mandolin_convert",params);this.convert=function(){}};function daysFromNow(n){var endDate;endDate=new Date().getTime()+(n*60*60*24)*1000;return endDate}function pick(segments,rate){var picked,min=0,max=segments.length-1;if(typeof rate==="number"&&Math.random()>rate){return null}do{picked=Math.floor(Math.random()*(max-min+1))+min}while(picked>max);return segments[picked]}window.bbc.Mandolin.Storage=function(name){validateCookieName(name);this._cookieName=name;this._isEnabled=(bbccookies.isAllowed(this._cookieName)===true&&bbccookies.cookiesEnabled()===true)};window.bbc.Mandolin.Storage.prototype.setItem=function(key,value){var storeData=this.getItems();storeData[key]=value;this.save(storeData);return value};window.bbc.Mandolin.Storage.prototype.isEnabled=function(){return this._isEnabled};window.bbc.Mandolin.Storage.prototype.getItem=function(key){var storeData=this.getItems();return storeData[key]};window.bbc.Mandolin.Storage.prototype.removeItem=function(key){var storeData=this.getItems();delete storeData[key];this.save(storeData)};window.bbc.Mandolin.Storage.prototype.getItems=function(){return deserialise(this.readCookie(this._cookieName)||"")};window.bbc.Mandolin.Storage.prototype.save=function(data){window.bbccookies.set(this._cookieName+"="+encodeURIComponent(serialise(data))+"; expires="+getLastExpirationDate(data).toUTCString()+";")};window.bbc.Mandolin.Storage.prototype.readCookie=function(name){var nameEq=name+"=",ca=window.bbccookies.get().split("; "),i,c;validateCookieName(name);for(i=0;i<ca.length;i++){c=ca[i];if(c.indexOf(nameEq)===0){return decodeURIComponent(c.substring(nameEq.length,c.length))}}return null};function serialise(o){var str="";for(var p in o){if(o.hasOwnProperty(p)){str+='"'+p+'"'+":"+(typeof o[p]==="object"?(o[p]===null?"null":"{"+serialise(o[p])+"}"):'"'+o[p].toString()+'"')+","}}return str.replace(/,\}/g,"}").replace(/,$/g,"")}function deserialise(str){var o;str="{"+str+"}";if(!validateSerialisation(str)){throw"Invalid input provided for deserialisation."}eval("o = "+str);return o}var validateSerialisation=(function(){var OBJECT_TOKEN="<Object>",ESCAPED_CHAR='"\\n\\r\\u2028\\u2029\\u000A\\u000D\\u005C',ALLOWED_CHAR="([^"+ESCAPED_CHAR+"]|\\\\["+ESCAPED_CHAR+"])",KEY='"'+ALLOWED_CHAR+'+"',VALUE='(null|"'+ALLOWED_CHAR+'*"|'+OBJECT_TOKEN+")",KEY_VALUE=KEY+":"+VALUE,KEY_VALUE_SEQUENCE="("+KEY_VALUE+",)*"+KEY_VALUE,OBJECT_LITERAL="({}|{"+KEY_VALUE_SEQUENCE+"})",objectPattern=new RegExp(OBJECT_LITERAL,"g");return function(str){if(str.indexOf(OBJECT_TOKEN)!==-1){return false}while(str.match(objectPattern)){str=str.replace(objectPattern,OBJECT_TOKEN)}return str===OBJECT_TOKEN}})();function validateCookieName(name){if(name.match(/ ,;/)){throw"Illegal name provided, must be valid in browser cookie."}}})(); /*]]>*/</script> <script type="text/javascript"> document.documentElement.className += (document.documentElement.className? ' ' : '') + 'orb-js'; fig.manager.confirm(); </script> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250js_/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.21.24/orb/4/script/orb/api.min.js"></script> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250js_/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.21.24/orb/4/script/orb/font.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var blq = { environment: function() { return 'live'; } } </script> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ function oqsSurveyManager(w, flag) { if (flag !== 'OFF' && (w.orb.fig("no") || w.orb.fig("uk"))) { w.document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.21.24/orb/4/script/vendor/edr.min.js"><'+'/script>'); } } oqsSurveyManager(window, 'ON'); /*]]>*/ </script>  <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ var _sf_startpt = (new Date()).getTime(); /*]]>*/ </script><style type="text/css">.bbccom_display_none{display:none;}</style><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ var bbcdotcomConfig, googletag = googletag || {}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; var bbcdotcom = false; (function(){ if(typeof require !== 'undefined') { require({ paths:{ "bbcdotcom":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/bbcdotcom/1.61.0/script" } }); } })(); /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ var bbcdotcom = { adverts: { keyValues: { set: function() {} } }, advert: { write: function () {}, show: function () {}, isActive: function () { return false; }, layout: function() { return { reset: function() {} } } }, config: { init: function() {}, isActive: function() {}, setSections: function() {}, isAdsEnabled: function() {}, setAdsEnabled: function() {}, isAnalyticsEnabled: function() {}, setAnalyticsEnabled: function() {}, setAssetPrefix: function() {}, setVersion: function () {}, setJsPrefix: function() {}, setSwfPrefix: function() {}, setCssPrefix: function() {}, setConfig: function() {}, getAssetPrefix: function() {}, getJsPrefix: function () {}, getSwfPrefix: function () {}, getCssPrefix: function () {} }, survey: { init: function(){ return false; } }, data: {}, init: function() {}, objects: function(str) { return false; }, locale: { set: function() {}, get: function() {} }, setAdKeyValue: function() {}, utils: { addEvent: function() {}, addHtmlTagClass: function() {}, log: function () {} }, addLoadEvent: function() {} }; /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function(){ if (typeof orb !== 'undefined' && typeof orb.fig === 'function') { if (orb.fig('ad') && orb.fig('uk') == 0) { bbcdotcom.data = { ads: (orb.fig('ad') ? 1 : 0), stats: (orb.fig('uk') == 0 ? 1 : 0), statsProvider: orb.fig('ap') }; } } else { document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="'+('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.bbc.com' : 'https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://tps.bbc.com')+'/wwscripts/data">\x3C/script>'); } })(); /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function(){ if (typeof orb === 'undefined' || typeof orb.fig !== 'function') { bbcdotcom.data = { ads: bbcdotcom.data.a, stats: bbcdotcom.data.b, statsProvider: bbcdotcom.data.c }; } if (bbcdotcom.data.ads == 1) { document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="'+('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.bbc.co.uk' : 'https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.co.uk')+'/wwscripts/flag">\x3C/script>'); } })(); /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function(){ if (window.bbcdotcom && (typeof bbcdotcom.flag == 'undefined' || (typeof bbcdotcom.data.ads !== 'undefined' && bbcdotcom.flag.a != 1))) { bbcdotcom.data.ads = 0; } if (/[?|&]ads/.test(window.location.href) || /(^|; )ads=on; /.test(document.cookie) || /; ads=on(; |$)/.test(document.cookie)) { bbcdotcom.data.ads = 1; bbcdotcom.data.stats = 1; } if (window.bbcdotcom && (bbcdotcom.data.ads == 1 || bbcdotcom.data.stats == 1)) { bbcdotcom.assetPrefix = "https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/bbcdotcom/1.61.0/"; if (/(sandbox|int)(.dev)*.bbc.co*/.test(window.location.href) || /[?|&]ads-debug/.test(window.location.href) || document.cookie.indexOf('ads-debug=') !== -1) { document.write('<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/bbcdotcom/1.61.0/style/dist/bbcdotcom.dev.css" />'); } else { document.write('<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/bbcdotcom/1.61.0/style/dist/bbcdotcom.css" />'); } (function() { var useSSL = 'https:' == document.location.protocol; var src = (useSSL ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js'; document.write('<scr' + 'ipt src="' + src + '">\x3C/script>'); })(); if (/(sandbox|int)(.dev)*.bbc.co*/.test(window.location.href) || /[?|&]ads-debug/.test(window.location.href) || document.cookie.indexOf('ads-debug=') !== -1) { document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/bbcdotcom/1.61.0/script/dist/bbcdotcom.dev.js">\x3C/script>'); } else { document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/bbcdotcom/1.61.0/script/dist/bbcdotcom.js">\x3C/script>'); } } })(); /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.data.stats == 1) { document.write('<link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://secure-us.imrworldwide.com/">'); document.write('<link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://me-cdn.effectivemeasure.net/">'); document.write('<link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ssc.api.bbc.com/">'); } if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.data.ads == 1) { document.write('<link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.googletagservices.com/">'); } </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function(){ if (window.bbcdotcom && (bbcdotcom.data.ads == 1 || bbcdotcom.data.stats == 1)) { bbcdotcomConfig = {"adFormat":"standard","adKeyword":"","adMode":"smart","adsEnabled":true,"appAnalyticsSections":"","asyncEnabled":false,"disableInitialLoad":false,"advertInfoPageUrl":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20170804104250\/http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/privacy\/cookies\/international\/","advertisementText":"Advertisement","analyticsEnabled":true,"appName":"barlesque","assetPrefix":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20170804104250\/http:\/\/static.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/1.61.0\/","customAdParams":[],"customStatsParams":[],"headline":"","id":"","inAssociationWithText":"in association with","keywords":"","language":"","orbTransitional":false,"outbrainEnabled":true,"adsenseEnabled":true,"adsportappEnabled":true,"palEnv":"live","productName":"","sections":[],"comScoreEnabled":true,"comscoreSite":"bbc","comscoreID":"19293874","comscorePageName":"","slots":"","sponsoredByText":"is sponsored by","adsByGoogleText":"Ads by Google","summary":"","type":"","features":{"testfeature":{"name":"testfeature","envs":["sandbox","int","test"],"on":true,"options":{},"override":null},"lxadverts":{"name":"lxadverts","envs":[],"on":true,"options":{},"override":null}},"staticBase":"\/bbcdotcom","staticHost":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20170804104250\/http:\/\/static.bbci.co.uk","staticVersion":"1.61.0","staticPrefix":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20170804104250\/http:\/\/static.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/1.61.0","dataHttp":"tps.bbc.com","dataHttps":"www.bbc.com","flagHttp":"www.bbc.co.uk","flagHttps":"www.bbc.co.uk","analyticsHttp":"sa.bbc.com","analyticsHttps":"ssa.bbc.com"}; bbcdotcom.config.init(bbcdotcomConfig, bbcdotcom.data, window.location, window.document); bbcdotcom.config.setAssetPrefix("https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbci.co.uk/bbcdotcom/1.61.0/"); bbcdotcom.config.setVersion("1.61.0"); document.write(''); document.write(''); document.write(''); if (/[?|&]ex-dp/.test(window.location.href) || document.cookie.indexOf('ex-dp=') !== -1) { bbcdotcom.utils.addHtmlTagClass('bbcdotcom-ex-dp'); } } })(); /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function() { window.bbcdotcom.head = true; }()); /*]]>*/ </script>  <script type="text/javascript"> // Globally available search context window.SEARCHBOX={"variant":"default","locale":"en","navSearchboxStaticPrefix":"//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://nav.files.bbci.co.uk/searchbox/1.0.0-129","searchboxAppStaticPrefix":"//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://search.files.bbci.co.uk/searchbox-app/1.0.16","searchFormHtml":"<div tabindex=\"-1\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg\" data-react-checksum=\"1923032532\"><div data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0\"><section class=\"se-searchbox-panel\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0\"><div class=\"se-g-wrap\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0\"><div class=\"se-g-layout\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0.0\"><div class=\"se-g-layout__item se-searchbox-title\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0.0.0\">search</div><div class=\"se-g-layout__item se-searchbox\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0.0.1\"><form accept-charset=\"utf-8\" id=\"searchboxDrawerForm\" method=\"get\" action=\"//search.bbc.co.uk/search\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0.0.1.0\"><label class=\"se-searchbox__input\" for=\"se-searchbox-input-field\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0.0.1.0.0\"><span class=\"se-sr-only\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.0\">Search Term</span><input name=\"q\" type=\"text\" value=\"\" id=\"se-searchbox-input-field\" class=\"se-searchbox__input__field\" maxlength=\"512\" autocomplete=\"off\" autocorrect=\"off\" autocapitalize=\"off\" spellcheck=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.1\"/></label><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"scope\" value=\"\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0.0.1.0.2\"/><button type=\"submit\" class=\"se-searchbox__submit\" tabindex=\"0\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0.0.1.0.3\">Search</button><button type=\"button\" class=\"se-searchbox__clear se-searchbox__clear--visible\" tabindex=\"0\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.0.0.0.1.0.4\">Close</button></form></div></div></div></section><div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\" class=\"se-suggestions-container\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.1\"><section class=\"se-g-wrap\" data-reactid=\".2fvssx2jgg.0.1.0\"></section></div></div></div>","searchScopePlaceholder":"","searchScopeParam":"","searchScopeTemplate":"","searchPlaceholderWrapperStart":"","searchPlaceholderWrapperEnd":""}; window.SEARCHBOX.suppress = false; window.SEARCHBOX.searchScope = SEARCHBOX.searchScopeTemplate.split('-')[0]; </script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250cs_/http://nav.files.bbci.co.uk/searchbox/1.0.0-129/css/main.css">    <link rel="stylesheet" href="//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250cs_/http://static.bbc.co.uk/id/0.37.24/style/id-cta.css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250cs_/http://static.bbc.co.uk/id/0.37.24/style/id-cta-v5.css"/>  <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var map = {}; if (typeof(map['jssignals-1']) == 'undefined') { map['jssignals-1'] = 'https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://static.bbc.co.uk/frameworks/jssignals/0.3.6/modules/jssignals-1'; } require({paths: map}); /* ]]> */ </script> <script src="//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250js_/http://static.bbc.co.uk/id/0.37.24/modules/idcta/dist/idcta-1.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> (function () { if (!window.require) { throw new Error('idcta: could not find require module'); } if(typeof(map) == 'undefined') { var map = {}; } if(!!document.createElementNS && !!document.createElementNS('http://www.w3.org/2000/svg', "svg").createSVGRect) { document.documentElement.className += ' id-svg'; } var ptrt = RegExp("[\\?&]ptrt=([^&#]*)").exec(document.location.href); var ENDPOINT_URL = '//' + ((window.location.protocol == "https:") ? ('ssl.bbc.co.uk').replace("www.", "ssl.") : ('ssl.bbc.co.uk').replace("ssl.", "www.")); var ENDPOINT_CONFIG = ('/idcta/config?callback&locale=en-GB&ptrt=' + encodeURI((ptrt ? ptrt[1] : document.location.href))).replace(/\&/g, '&'); var ENDPOINT_TRANSLATIONS = '/idcta/translations?callback&locale=en-GB'; map['idapp-1'] = '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbc.co.uk/idapp/0.72.58/modules/idapp/idapp-1'; map['idcta'] = '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbc.co.uk/id/0.37.24/modules/idcta'; map['idcta/config'] = [ENDPOINT_URL + ENDPOINT_CONFIG, '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbc.co.uk/id/0.37.24/modules/idcta/fallbackConfig']; map['idcta/translations'] = [ENDPOINT_URL + ENDPOINT_TRANSLATIONS, '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.bbc.co.uk/id/0.37.24/modules/idcta/fallbackTranslations']; require({paths: map}); /* * Temporary code * To be removed when old id-statusbar-config is no longer supported */ define('id-statusbar-config', ['idcta/id-config'], function(conf) { return conf; }); define('idcta/id-statusbar-config', ['idcta/id-config'], function(conf) { return conf; }); })(); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250cs_/http://mybbc.files.bbci.co.uk/notification-ui/3.8.1/css/main.min.css"/>  <script> var isIE8=false, _config={"version":"rc43","adpolicy":{"ad-display-frequency":180},"weather_api":{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://open.live.bbc.co.uk","full_forecast_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/"},"bbc":{"ps":{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.co.uk"},"ww":{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com"}},"domain":"www.bbc.com","images":{"default":{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/2g/t3/p02gt3v6.jpg","title":"BBC Earth Default Placeholder","URL":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/30/k9/p030k9by.jpg"},"capital-external-promotion":{"URL":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe//images/live/p0/2y/vw/p02yvwtm.jpg","title":"BBC Capital External Link"},"autos-external-promotion":{"URL":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/2y/vx/p02yvx7t.jpg","title":"BBC Autos External Link"},"culture-external-promotion":{"URL":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/2v/0x/p02v0x03.jpg","title":"BBC Culture External Link"},"earth-external-promotion":{"URL":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/30/k9/p030k9by.jpg","title":"BBC Earth External Link"},"future-external-promotion":{"URL":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/2r/tx/p02rtx8g.jpg","title":"BBC Future External Link"},"travel-external-promotion":{"URL":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/2j/hr/p02jhrqm.jpg","title":"BBC Travel External Link"},"sol-catch-page":{"URL":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/4d/f9/p04df9pv.jpg","title":"BBC Earth - Sir David Attenborough's Story of Life"},"sol-video-page":{"URL":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/4d/f9/p04df9pv.jpg","title":"BBC Earth - Sir David Attenborough's Story of Life"}},"module":{"id":"wwearth","backendModuleId":"wwearth","isGeoRestricted":false,"name":"Earth","domain":"earth","brandColor":"#008e9b","description":"BBC Earth"},"moduleId":"wwearth","environment":"live","socialIcons":{"default":{"desktop":["facebook","twitter","reddit","stumbleupon","google","email"],"mobile":["facebook","twitter","reddit","whatsapp","google","email"]},"slideshow_gallery":{"desktop":["email","facebook","twitter","pinterest","reddit"],"mobile":["email","facebook","twitter","pinterest","whatsapp"]},"sol_video_player":{"desktop":["email","facebook","twitter","pinterest","reddit"],"mobile":["email","facebook","twitter","pinterest","whatsapp"]}},"socialLinks":{"facebook":{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.facebook.com/BBCEarth"},"twitter":{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://twitter.com/BBCEarth","username":"BBCEarth"},"youtube":{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.youtube.com/user/BBCEarth"},"instagram":{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://instagram.com/bbcearth"}},"analytics":{"is_enabled":true,"bbc_vertical_regex":"/^http(|s):\\/\\/[a-z0-9\\-.]+.bbc.com\\/(future|culture|earth|capital|autos|travel|britain)(\\/)?(.*)?/","comscore":{"is_enabled":true,"url_ssc_http":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ssc.api.bbc.com/","url_ssc_https":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://ssc.api.bbc.com/","url_scorecard_http":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://b.scorecardresearch.com/b","url_scorecard_https":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/b","suite":"bbc","customer_id":"19774467","user_tracking_cookie":"ckpf_sscid","user_tracking_cookie_legacy":"ckpf_uid","delay_tracking_cookie":"ckpf_wwverticalscs","tracking_timeout":500}},"image_recipe":{"recipe_prefix":"live/","watermarking_enabled":true},"story-of-life":{"custom-collection-max-length":6,"image-url":{"directory":"live","recipe-placeholder":"{recipe}"}},"static":{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/static/80639ec75e40","brand-img-dir":"/img/shared/brands/","vertical":"earth","module":"wwearth"}}, _entityMapping="wwearth/story/{id}", _exposedData={"story":{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":499674,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":1512,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/56/cj/p056cj5w.jpg","SourceWidth":2689,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"","SynopsisShort":"Hero A sea otter floating on its back in California","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/56/cj/p056cj5w.jpg","Title":"Hero A sea otter floating on its back in California","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056cj5w","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056cj5w","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p056cj5w","_id":"598392ad0b1947497fce4a28"}],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":1203279,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":1080,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/56/c9/p056c95v.jpg","SourceWidth":1920,"SynopsisLong":"A pair of juvenile hairy-nosed otters found in the house of a hunter (credit: Conservation International)","SynopsisMedium":"A pair of juvenile hairy-nosed otters found in the house of a hunter (credit: Conservation International)","SynopsisShort":"A pair of juvenile hairy-nosed otters found in the house of a hunter","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/56/c9/p056c95v.jpg","Title":"A pair of juvenile hairy-nosed otters found in the house of a hunter","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c95v","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c95v","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p056c95v","_id":"59823e300b1947497fcd95c5"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":2231931,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":1080,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/56/c9/p056c9bh.jpg","SourceWidth":1920,"SynopsisLong":"Flooded forests are an important habitat for hairy-nosed otters (credit: Conservation International)","SynopsisMedium":"Flooded forests are an important habitat for hairy-nosed otters (credit: Conservation International)","SynopsisShort":"Flooded forests are an important habitat for hairy-nosed otters","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/56/c9/p056c9bh.jpg","Title":"Flooded forests are an important habitat for hairy-nosed otters","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c9bh","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c9bh","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p056c9bh","_id":"5981d4dc0b1947497fccca56"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":2076111,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":1080,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/56/c7/p056c7hw.jpg","SourceWidth":1920,"SynopsisLong":"Otters are very social and playful animals (credit: Charlie Hamilton James)","SynopsisMedium":"Otters are very social and playful animals (credit: Charlie Hamilton James)","SynopsisShort":"Otters are very social and playful animals","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/56/c7/p056c7hw.jpg","Title":"Otters are very social and playful animals","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c7hw","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c7hw","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p056c7hw","_id":"5981d4db0b1947497fccc99f"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":1886134,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":1080,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/56/c8/p056c814.jpg","SourceWidth":1920,"SynopsisLong":"Otters are expert hunters (credit: Charlie Hamilton James)","SynopsisMedium":"Otters are expert hunters (credit: Charlie Hamilton James)","SynopsisShort":"Otters are expert hunters","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/56/c8/p056c814.jpg","Title":"Otters are expert hunters","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c814","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c814","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p056c814","_id":"5982fefc0b1947497fcdf9ab"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":1388677,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":1080,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/56/c8/p056c89n.jpg","SourceWidth":1920,"SynopsisLong":"Sea otters have many skills and are very adaptable (credit: Inaki Relanzon / Naturepl.com)","SynopsisMedium":"Sea otters have many skills and are very adaptable (credit: Inaki Relanzon / Naturepl.com)","SynopsisShort":"Sea otters have many skills and are very adaptable","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/56/c8/p056c89n.jpg","Title":"Sea otters have many skills and are very adaptable","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c89n","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c89n","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p056c89n","_id":"5982a1760b1947497fcdc9f0"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":1360086,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":1080,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/56/c8/p056c8n2.jpg","SourceWidth":1920,"SynopsisLong":"Rescued sea otters are looked after at Monterey Bay Aquarium (credit: Minden Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo)","SynopsisMedium":"Rescued sea otters are looked after at Monterey Bay Aquarium (credit: Minden Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo)","SynopsisShort":"Rescued sea otters are looked after at Monterey Bay Aquarium","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/56/c8/p056c8n2.jpg","Title":"Rescued sea otters are looked after at Monterey Bay Aquarium","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c8n2","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c8n2","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p056c8n2","_id":"598248180b1947497fcd9b37"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":1714411,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":1080,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/56/c8/p056c8yq.jpg","SourceWidth":1920,"SynopsisLong":"Hairs around the nostrils are one of the main distinguishing features of hairy-nosed otters compared to Eurasian otters (credit: Conservation International)","SynopsisMedium":"Hairs around the nostrils are one of the main distinguishing features of hairy-nosed otters compared to Eurasian otters (credit: Conservation International)","SynopsisShort":"Hairs around the nostrils are a distinguishing features of hairy-nosed otters","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/56/c8/p056c8yq.jpg","Title":"Hairs around the nostrils are a distinguishing features of hairy-nosed otters","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c8yq","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p056c8yq","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p056c8yq","_id":"5981d4dc0b1947497fccca3f"}],"AssetSelect":"","AssetVideoIb2":null,"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"<p>Assistant Producer for BBC Earth</p>","Email":[],"Links":null,"Name":"Jeremy Coles","PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","CreationDateTime":"2015-04-30T09:42:04Z","Entity":"author","Guid":"90729ab0-6de9-4b0c-a3a7-2be5fdf6c56c","Id":"wwearth/author/jeremy-coles","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:12:43.769413Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"jeremy-coles"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-04-30T09:42:04Z","Entity":"author","Guid":"90729ab0-6de9-4b0c-a3a7-2be5fdf6c56c","Id":"wwearth/author/jeremy-coles","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:12:43.769413Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"jeremy-coles"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:author:wwearth/author/jeremy-coles","_id":"5981d2390b1947497fcb8756"}],"BodyHtml":"<p>Loveable, playful, inquisitive, tenacious, energetic, versatile, charming and undeniably cute. These are just some of the words that can be used to describe an otter. If you’ve been lucky enough to see one of these shy semi-aquatic animals in the wild, you’ll instantly understand why.</p><p>But despite all their lovable qualities, otter populations all over the world hang in the balance.</p><p>Because they haven’t always been appreciated (at least not alive), <a title=\"The Otter Project: sea otter natural history\" href=\"http://www.otterproject.org/about-sea-otters/natural-history/\" target=\"_self\">sea otters</a> were almost hunted to extinction for their warm and luxurious pelts. More recently, many species including <a title=\"The Endangered Species Handbook: common otter persecution and hunting\" href=\"http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/persecution_otters.php\" target=\"_self\">the common, or Eurasian, otter</a> have been hunted and trapped because they were seen as threats to fish stocks and competition for our food. Sometimes they were even killed for fun.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p056c7hw\"}}</p><p>It is not just deliberate hunting, trapping and persecution that cause otters to suffer; they have to cope with shrinking habitats and a shortage of food, are vulnerable to chemicals, pollutants and (for some species) oil spills. Accidentally getting caught in fishing nets, parasites and infectious diseases are yet further causes of fatalities.</p><p>These are big problems and a tall order for any group of animals to deal with.</p><p>Despite all these challenges, they are fighters with a range of skills and behaviours making them superbly adapted to life on land and in water.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p056c814\"}}</p><p>Found on every continent except Oceania and Antarctica, not one of the 13 species has yet become extinct.</p><p>This says a lot about the tenacious nature of these members of the mustelid family, but also about the efforts many organisations and individuals have played in their conservation. The approaches and use of technology may differ vastly in different parts of the world, but the long-term survival of the species is what matters.</p><p><strong>Sea otters in California</strong></p><p>It was a close call for the incredibly cute sea otter (<em>Enhydra lutris</em>) though.</p><p>During the fur trade of the 1700s and 1800s, the worldwide sea otter population was reduced from as many as 300,000 animals to as few as 2000, explains Andrew Johnson, Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Conservation Research Operations Manager.</p><p>They were relentlessly hunted for their pelts. With around a million hairs per square inch, it was regarded as one of the most prized animal furs in the world.</p><p>Along the Californian coast, the southern sea otter (<em>Enhydra lutris nereis</em>) was persecuted particularly badly, where numbers in the early 1900s were down to around 50 individuals (from 15,000) and were close to being wiped out.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p056c89n\"}}</p><p>Thankfully, they are now protected and their numbers have recovered to around 125,000 - though they remain an endangered species.</p><p>Healthy populations have a profound effect on the overall health of kelp forests, estuaries, and coastal and ocean ecosystems, because, Johnson says, “When sea otters are absent, those systems often fall out of balance and become less diverse and resilient.”</p><p><a title=\"Monterey Bay Aquarium: southern sea otters\" href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/conservation-and-science/our-priorities/thriving-ocean-wildlife/southern-sea-otters\" target=\"_self\">Monterey Bay Aquarium</a> in California has worked with sea otters since it opened in 1984 and now operates a successful sea otter rescue and release programme, using state-of-the-art facilities and tracking implants to help them in their vital work.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p056c8n2\"}}</p><p>To help stranded sea otters, they have an Intensive Care Unit and multiple enclosures filled with filtered seawater with the capacity to hold 10 animals at one time. To monitor their progress once back in the wild, they use radio transmitters.</p><p>“We implant the transmitters so that we can track each otter and watch its behaviour following release,” he says.</p><p>Because the batteries last at least two years, young animals can often be tracked until they reach adulthood and reproduce, allowing the team to document the significant impact releasing sea otters into an area has on the ecosystem.</p><p>Largely due to legislation and the conservation work of dedicated organisations and charities such as Monterey Bay Aquarium, there is good news for California’s southern sea otters, as numbers are now up to 3000.</p><p>“This charismatic and vital species would not have survived without these protections.</p><p>“We need them to survive so they can exert positive effects on kelp forests and estuarine habitats, making those areas healthier and more ecologically diverse,” Johnson says.</p><p><strong>Hairy-nosed otters in Cambodia</strong></p><p>Not all approaches to conservation are so well funded, but this doesn’t mean they are any less successful.</p><p>The hairy-nosed otter (<em>Lutra sumatrana</em>) is one of the rarest and most endangered species of otter. In the 1990s, it was thought extinct throughout its range in Southeast Asia due to habitat loss, poaching, local consumption of otter meat and a loss of its sources of food.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p056c8yq\"}}</p><p>However, surveying between 2006 and 2013 at possible habitats confirmed the presence of several small populations. In Cambodia, for example, it was found in four areas; one of the largest populations being around the flooded forest surrounding the Tonle Sap Lake.</p><p>Now the species has been ‘rediscovered’, it needs to be protected so that the populations can be allowed to grow. And that’s where organisations such as <a title=\"Conservation International: Greater Mekong Project\" href=\"http://www.conservation.org/where/Pages/Greater-Mekong-region.aspx\" target=\"_self\">Conservation International</a> have worked to protect and conserve the area and the species.</p><p>As Sokrith Heng, Conservation International’s lead researcher for the survey, explains, even though there are a number of laws and regulations to protect the species, enforcement on the ground is weak and limited and local people’s awareness of the importance of the wildlife and ecosystems they live in is very limited.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p056c95v\"}}</p><p>Poverty in areas such as rural Cambodia can also be a problem and often pushes local communities to use natural resources in unsustainable ways.</p><p>In response to this, Conservation International took action at Tonle Sap Lake. Their approach was to restore critical habitat, raise awareness in local communities and schools, and suggest laws and regulations to better protect the species. They also established conservation zones, protecting these through collaboration with government and community rangers as well as helping local community fisheries to development alternative livelihoods.</p><p>Key to this was directly engaging local community members in otter research and forming a group of ‘otter ambassadors’ who help spread awareness resulting in stronger support from locals.</p><p>This is important Heng says because; “Educating local people means they can share their knowledge to other community members.”</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p056c9bh\"}}</p><p>An important part of the successful conservation here is ensuring that local communities are able to sustainably use and manage their resources, and that the communities are financially stronger, explains Heng. For example, some community fisheries now have better protection for the otters: they are patrolling the area to stop illegal activities and teaching otter conservation in the local area.</p><p>At Tonle Sap Lake, these approaches resulted in fewer otter traps and skins being recorded by officials and researchers, both signs that fewer animals were being killed. While ongoing habitat restoration combined with less hunting and greater awareness is helping to ensure a brighter future for the hairy-nosed otter.</p><p>Although the technology maybe very different to that used at Monterey Bay, this method of conservation has been just as successful, as hairy-nosed otters now have at least one stronghold in Cambodia.</p><p>It is a good result for the country and for a species that was once thought extinct.</p><p><em>UK viewers can watch <a title=\"Natural World: Supercharged Otters\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08w61m6\" target=\"_self\">Natural World: Supercharged Otters</a> on <a title=\"iPlayer: Natural World - Supercharged Otters\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08w61m6/natural-world-20172018-5-supercharged-otters\" target=\"_self\">iPlayer</a>.</em></p><p><em>Never miss a moment. Sign-up now for the <a title=\"Sign-up for the BBC Earth newsletter\" href=\"http://pages.s6.exacttarget.com/page.aspx?QS=773ed3059447707dc886c515d1ff5a33ac4c04337acad3b65cdf6bea5f69f255\" target=\"_self\">BBC Earth newsletter</a>.</em></p>","BusinessUnit":"public service","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":null,"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2017-06-20T00:00:01Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"Conservation success for otters on the brink","HeadlineShort":"Return of the otters","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"All over the world otter populations have been hanging in the balance, but two very different approaches have been successful in saving the species","IsSyndicated":false,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":72571,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":576,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://deltaorigin.bbc.co.uk/images/live/p0/30/1m/p0301msf.jpg","SourceWidth":1024,"SynopsisLong":"A film showing the amazing and adorable work of Monterey Bay Aquarium's sea otter team.","SynopsisMedium":"A film showing the amazing and adorable work of Monterey Bay Aquarium's sea otter team.","SynopsisShort":"A film showing the amazing and adorable work of Monterey Bay Aquarium's sea otter team.","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/30/1m/p0301msf.jpg","Title":"World's best job - sea otter groomer","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p0301msf","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p0301msf","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p0301msf","_id":"5981d3f10b1947497fcc5b0e"}],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":null,"AssetSelect":"ib2video","AssetVideoIb2":[{"Duration":54,"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"videopid","Guid":"","Id":"p0301mvy","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Thumbnail":[],"Title":"World's hardest job - otter pup groomer","Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:videopid:p0301mvy","Vpid":"p0301mw3","_id":"5981d5ce0b1947497fcd521c"}],"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":null,"BodyHtml":"<p>If your job involved caring for these cute, fluffy faces all day, you'd probably say you had it pretty good.</p><p>And although the elite team of carers at Monterey Bay Aquarium would agree, the job of looking after orphaned and rejected pups is vital and more difficult than you might think.</p><p>The team must wear dark visors when working with the orphaned babies so that the young sea otters don't become used to humans. The pups must be meticulously groomed - a job normally carried out by their mothers - in order to remain dry, fluffy and buoyant.</p><p>And with the densest fur in the animal kingdom, grooming a sea otter can take quite some time.</p><p>But the hardest and yet most rewarding time comes, as anyone who has worked rehabilitating wild animals will tell you, when it's time to release them into the wild.</p><p>This clip was taken from Big Blue Live, a new series on BBC One in the UK and PBS in the US.</p><p><a title=\"BBC Big Blue Live homepage\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02v036z\" target=\"_self\">Click here for more information about Big Blue Live</a>.</p><p>You can follow <a title=\"BBC Earth on Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">BBC Earth</a> on Twitter, Like BBC Earth on <a title=\"BBC Earth on Facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">Facebook</a> and follow us on <a title=\"BBC Earth on Instagram\" href=\"http://instagram.com/bbcearth/\" target=\"_self\">Instagram</a>.</p>","BusinessUnit":"public service","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":[],"Campaign":null,"CollectionOverrides":null,"CollectionType":"column","Description":"Hot videos, that our audiences just loved to share","Name":"Video","Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Title":"Video","CreationDateTime":"2015-08-31T16:03:52.592676Z","Entity":"collection","Guid":"12cc46ca-2839-468b-bc28-b5ac25ee7298","Id":"wwearth/column/video","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T15:08:15.392647Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"column/video"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-08-31T16:03:52.592676Z","Entity":"collection","Guid":"12cc46ca-2839-468b-bc28-b5ac25ee7298","Id":"wwearth/column/video","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T15:08:15.392647Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"column/video"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:collection:wwearth/column/video","_id":"5981d23f0b1947497fcb90a2"}],"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2015-08-19T16:46:17Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"How to be an 'otter fluffer'","HeadlineShort":"How to be an 'otter fluffer'","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"Watch the Monterey Bay Aquarium's dedicated sea otter team caring for a pup before its release","IsSyndicated":false,"Location":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":null,"RelatedTag":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"","LinkUrl":"","Name":"Big Blue Live"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-08-19T12:37:41Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"427e7c53-d8a5-481d-be41-219d821be62b","Id":"tag/big-blue-live","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:07:35.402329Z","Project":"","Slug":"big-blue-live"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:tag:tag/big-blue-live","_id":"5981d5c00b1947497fcd4701"}],"StoryType":"video","SummaryLong":"Watch the Monterey Bay Aquarium's dedicated sea otter team caring for a pup before its release","SummaryShort":"Watch Monterey Bay Aquarium's sea otter team caring for a pup before its release","Tag":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"","LinkUrl":"","Name":"Big Blue Live","CreationDateTime":"2015-08-19T12:37:41Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"427e7c53-d8a5-481d-be41-219d821be62b","Id":"tag/big-blue-live","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:07:35.402329Z","Project":"","Slug":"big-blue-live"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-08-19T12:37:41Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"427e7c53-d8a5-481d-be41-219d821be62b","Id":"tag/big-blue-live","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:07:35.402329Z","Project":"","Slug":"big-blue-live"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:tag:tag/big-blue-live","_id":"5981d5c00b1947497fcd4701"},{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"","LinkUrl":"","Name":"Conservation","CreationDateTime":"2014-11-20T12:13:51Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"54889432-e084-4118-8d59-38e49a99eb04","Id":"tag/conservation","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:08:42.774516Z","Project":"","Slug":"conservation"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2014-11-20T12:13:51Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"54889432-e084-4118-8d59-38e49a99eb04","Id":"tag/conservation","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:08:42.774516Z","Project":"","Slug":"conservation"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:tag:tag/conservation","_id":"5981d5c80b1947497fcd4bae"}],"CreationDateTime":"2015-08-19T16:46:17Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"44f93954-4a0a-4a2d-a833-2dc5ebd4dc0d","Id":"wwearth/story/20150819-caring-for-sea-otters","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:07:43.927384Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20150819-caring-for-sea-otters"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-08-19T16:46:17Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"44f93954-4a0a-4a2d-a833-2dc5ebd4dc0d","Id":"wwearth/story/20150819-caring-for-sea-otters","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:07:43.927384Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20150819-caring-for-sea-otters"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20150819-caring-for-sea-otters","_id":"5983a0660b1947497fce510d"},{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":580357,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":1080,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/4d/xx/p04dxxv0.jpg","SourceWidth":1920,"SynopsisLong":"Mishka the sea otter being treated for asthma with an inhaler","SynopsisMedium":"Mishka the sea otter being treated for asthma with an inhaler","SynopsisShort":"Mishka the sea otter being treated for asthma with an inhaler","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/4d/xx/p04dxxv0.jpg","Title":"Mishka the sea otter","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p04dxxv0","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p04dxxv0","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p04dxxv0","_id":"598394cd0b1947497fce4b49"}],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[{"Duration":48,"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"videopid","Guid":"","Id":"p04dxylb","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Thumbnail":[],"Title":"Mishka the ashtmatic otter","Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:videopid:p04dxylb","Vpid":"p04dxyld","_id":"598394ce0b1947497fce4b4a"}],"AssetSelect":"ib2video","AssetVideoIb2":[{"Duration":48,"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"videopid","Guid":"","Id":"p04dxylb","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Thumbnail":[],"Title":"Mishka the ashtmatic otter","Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:videopid:p04dxylb","Vpid":"p04dxyld","_id":"598394ce0b1947497fce4b4a"}],"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"<p>Assistant Producer for BBC Earth</p>","Email":[],"Links":null,"Name":"Jeremy Coles","PrimaryVertical":"wwearth"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-04-30T09:42:04Z","Entity":"author","Guid":"90729ab0-6de9-4b0c-a3a7-2be5fdf6c56c","Id":"wwearth/author/jeremy-coles","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:12:43.769413Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"jeremy-coles"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:author:wwearth/author/jeremy-coles","_id":"5981d2390b1947497fcb8756"}],"BodyHtml":"<p>How do you treat an animal that spends most of its life in water for a breathing problem? It’s not a common question. But one that was asked by staff at the Seattle Aquarium, when a female sea otter called Mishka was the first of her species to be diagnosed with asthma.</p><p>The staff became increasingly worried about the young otter when she became distressed, had trouble breathing and, unusually for a healthy animal, could be touched and picked up. At first veterinary experts suspected a lung infection, because young sea otters that push their diving limits can take water into their airways and get aspiration pneumonia. But a battery of blood tests and X-rays surprised everyone when they revealed that Mishka was in fact asthmatic.</p><p>Asthma, also known as allergic bronchitis, is a serious, but common long-term condition, which affects more than 300 million people worldwide. It causes breathing problems such as wheezing, breathlessness and coughing due to a narrowing of sensitive tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs, which can also fill up with mucous.</p><p>There are many triggers for this allergic reaction including airborne substances like pollen, respiratory infections and cold air. Importantly for Mishka, it can also be brought on by air pollutants and smoke, as the summer of 2015 saw the worst forest fires in recorded history sweep through north west America. This caused widespread devastation and a blanket of smoke to descend on Seattle and the aquarium.</p><p>{\"video\":{ \"pid\": \"p04dxylb\",\"encoding\": \"ib2\" }}</p><p>While this may have contributed to her asthma, it still had to be treated quickly. The safest and most effective way was to use an inhaler, just like we would use, to deliver medicine that opened up her airways and to prevent future attacks. She took to it like a ‘sea otter to water’ and quickly learned to put her nose onto the nose piece and take full breaths, after which she got rewarded with food.</p><p>Cats and dogs are known to suffer from this breathing condition. But it has never been recorded in a sea otter before, who in their natural environment spend most of the time in water; diving over 30 metres to find food on the seabed. In humans with asthma, diving is a particularly risky activity, and only permitted with caution and on strict medical advice. Because a number of factors inherent to diving can trigger an attack, including physical exercise and breathing cold or dry air, an underwater attack can easily escalate to panic and drowning.</p><p>Of course no one knows what it would be like for a sea otter in the wild, but it’s safe to say that using an inhaler would not be an option. Hopefully Mishka will grow out of her asthma like some children do, but for now she’s a good patient taking her medication daily.</p><p>Jeremy Coles is a staff writer for BBC Earth. He is <a title=\"Jeremy Coles on Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/jpcoles\" target=\"_self\">@jpcoles</a> on Twitter.</p><p><em>Be the first to know about new BBC Earth articles and wildlife programmes by signing up for the</em> <a title=\"BBC Newsletter\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/23stMP5JkwY9hsHhg0QG60P/emails-made-for-you\" target=\"_self\">BBC's new personalised email newsletter here</a>. <em>You can also follow BBC Earth on</em> <a title=\"BBC Earth Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">Twitter</a> <em>and</em> <a title=\"BBC Earth Instagram\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bbcearth/\" target=\"_self\">Instagram</a> <em>and like us on</em> <a title=\"BBC Earth on Facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">Facebook</a>.</p>","BusinessUnit":"public service","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":null,"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2016-11-02T12:15:48.763Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"How to treat the first known sea otter with asthma","HeadlineShort":"How to treat a sea otter with asthma","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"A young female sea otter has been trained to take medicine from an inhaler because she is the first of her kind to be diagnosed with the breathing condition asthma ","IsSyndicated":false,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[],"AssetSelect":"","AssetVideoIb2":null,"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":[],"BodyHtml":"<p>A leopard slug's huge blue-tinted penis and upside-down reproductive acrobatics make for a colourful sex life.</p><p>Twisting their slimy bodies together, the large slugs dangle upside down from a glittering rope of mucus, slowly rotating. Then, out of the molluscs’ heads emerge large, blue, tube-like growths that wrap and writhe around each other.</p><p>If you come across this weird sight, you'd be forgiven for thinking the slug's wriggling blue protrusions were some sort of parasite, or even emerging young.</p><p>But what you’d actually be witnessing is a mating ritual of a pair of amorous leopard slugs, and the large blue tubes that grow out of the right side of the slugs’ heads are their immense penises.</p><p>Terrestrial slugs are hermaphrodites – so by wrapping their penises around one another, leopard slugs fertilise each other’s eggs.</p><p>Welcome to the strange, sticky and sensational world of slug sex.</p><p>“Leopard slugs and their relatives are unusual among slugs in that they hang upside-down to mate,” says Dr Ben Rowson, an expert in terrestrial molluscs at the National Museum Wales.</p><p>The bizarre mating method is featured in the latest series of <strong><a title=\"Nature's Weirdest Events - BBC Two - Home\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02fbxgn\" target=\"_self\">Nature’s Weirdest Events</a></strong> on BBC Two. In the programme Dr Rowson says: “Not many people would sign up to watch slugs mating, but once you’ve actually seen it… it is beautiful, it takes a long time and it’s kind of hypnotic and elegant.”</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02gj285\"}}</p><p>Leopard slugs (<em>Limax maximus</em>) can grow up to 20cm in length and are recognisable by their distinctive, leopard-like spots and colouring. Their mating rituals most often occur after dark.</p><p>Sexual encounters in the slugs are relatively rare: they can fertilise their own eggs, so some individuals never mate. And those that do need only to mate once in their lives.</p><p>But because the slugs are hermaphrodites, they can partner with any other leopard slug they meet.</p><p><strong>Amorous acrobatics</strong></p><p>To mate, the slugs hang upside down from a string of mucus they have secreted because they need the help of gravity to extend their large penises from openings in their heads.</p><p>These appendages, which are the length of the slugs’ entire bodies, are often coloured blueish by the slugs’ body fluids.</p><p>Afterwards leopard slugs may lay up to 200 eggs, from which tiny, pale white babies emerge.</p><p>Their large penises “may be an adaptation to ensure sperm delivery”, explains Dr Rowson. “The most evolutionary successful slugs… are likely to be those that fertilise the largest possible number of eggs.</p><p>“To do this, they would have to ensure that as well as having their own eggs fertilised, they deliver their own sperm to other slugs… longer penises may be more effective at doing this.”</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02gsm10\"}}</p><p>Although leopard slugs’ penises are proportionally large, some related slug species in southern Europe can grow their penises three of four times the length of their bodies, says Dr Rowson.</p><p>Slugs’ mating systems are diverse and colourful: some slugs do not have penises but stick together with precision. And among some African species recently discovered by Dr Rowson, things get even more bizarre: some have spiny or thorny genitalia, or arrow-like love darts “that make the mating of leopard slugs look tame”, he says.</p><p>“One Tanzanian species, <em>Upembella nonae</em>, even inserts a barbed-wire like spermatophore into its partner when mating.”</p><p>So as sensational as leopard slugs’ sex lives may be, the slimy lovers may find themselves outcompeted by fellow molluscs when it comes to mystifying mating systems.</p><p>Follow BBC Earth on <a title=\"BBC Earth on Facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">Facebook</a>, <a title=\"BBC Earth on Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/BBCEarth/\" target=\"_self\">Twitter</a> and <a title=\"BBC Earth on Instagram\" href=\"http://instagram.com/bbcearth/\" target=\"_self\">Instagram</a>.</p><p><strong><a title=\"National Museum Wales - slugs page\" href=\"http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/2750/\" target=\"_self\">Discover more about slugs with National Museum Wales</a></strong></p>","BusinessUnit":"public service","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":null,"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2015-01-14T10:45:14Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"The strange and sensational world of leopard slug sex","HeadlineShort":"Slug’s sensational sex moves","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"Under the cover of darkness, leopard slugs perform a bizarre, balletic and very colourful mating ritual","IsSyndicated":false,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[],"RelatedTag":null,"StoryType":"image","SummaryLong":"How leopard slugs’ huge blue-tinted penises and upside-down acrobatics make for a colourful sex life","SummaryShort":"A close-up look at the strange, sticky and sensational world of leopard slug sex","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[]},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-01-14T10:45:14Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"80a3a477-66b2-4c8e-a383-54865afbd965","Id":"wwearth/story/20150114-the-strange-sensational-world-of-leopard-slug-sex","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-09-21T11:43:44.01133Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20150114-the-strange-sensational-world-of-leopard-slug-sex"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20150114-the-strange-sensational-world-of-leopard-slug-sex","_id":"5981d54e0b1947497fcd04e9"},{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[],"AssetSelect":"ib2video","AssetVideoIb2":[],"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":null,"BodyHtml":"<p>The enigmatic oarfish could be the truth behind ancient tales of sea serpents capable of sinking ships.</p><p>Growing up to 36ft (11m) long and swimming like a snake at the ocean’s surface, oarfish match historic descriptions of frightening monsters from the deep.</p><p>The giant fish is still capable of sending witnesses fleeing for their lives and sightings in shallow water or incidents of oarfish beaching themselves seem to be increasing.</p><p>In reality oarfish are harmless and rarely seen as they are thought to normally live at depths of 500-1000ft (152-305m). But still very little is known about them.</p><p>The oarfish family (Regalecidae) contains the longest bony fish in the world (<em>Regalecus glesne</em>) which was first described in 1772 by Peter Ascanius.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02glm3t\"}}</p><p>Until recently no oarfish had been filmed in their own habitat, the rare footage is shown in the BBC Two programme <strong><a title=\"Nature's Weirdest Events\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02fbxw1\" target=\"_self\">Nature's Weirdest Events</a></strong>.</p><p>The film shows an oarfish swimming vertically, making undulations with its dorsal fin to keep it in a stationary position, which is thought to be for feeding. This contrasts with the snake-like movements they have been documented making in shallow water.</p><blockquote><p> It's like making contact with aliens </p></blockquote><p>“They are gorgeous fish, silver with iridescent blue blotches, bright red fins,” says Rick Feeney, ichthyology collections manager at the <a title=\"National History Museum of Los Angeles County\" href=\"http://www.nhm.org/site/\" target=\"_self\">Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County</a>.</p><p>“In the open ocean they are perfectly adapted to blend in with the water. People are attracted to them when they wash up. It's like making contact with aliens.”</p><p>Mr Feeney says oarfish coming into shallow water or beaching themselves are usually rare, localised events. There have been more than 500 recorded sightings since the mid-1700s in locations including the British Isles, Australia, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica and Japan.</p><p>In 2013 two dead oarfish washed up on beaches in the USA within a week of each other.</p><p>“People were ecstatic,” says Jeff Chace, from the <a title=\"Catalina Island Marine Institute\" href=\"http://cimioutdoored.org/\" target=\"_self\">Catalina Island Marine Institute</a>, off the coast of California, where one of the fish was discovered.</p><p><strong>Earthquake warning?</strong></p><p>“It was very cool to see, hold, and study an animal that we have never seen before. For me it was like being a kid on Christmas and opening up an amazing present.”</p><p>Marine scientists dissected the body and sent specimens to other research organisations interested in studying the gigantic fish.</p><blockquote><p> Maybe it's a combination of causes </p></blockquote><p>But no one has yet been able to prove why they come ashore. Theories about possible causes include storms, mating, starvation or illness.</p><p>In Japan there are even legends about oarfish being harbingers of earthquakes.</p><p>“The only one I would rule out is earthquake activity. If you plot the major earthquakes in California against the sightings there is no correlation,” says Mr Feeney.</p><p>“Other possible causes include red tide (algal bloom), predators, oceanic current changes, and boats. Maybe it's a combination of causes.”</p><p>It is hoped more frequent sightings and improved underwater research equipment could help scientists finally uncover the secrets of this once mythical animal.</p><p>You can follow BBC Earth on <strong><a title=\"BBC Earth Facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">Facebook</a></strong>, <strong><a title=\"BBC Earth Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/BBCEarth/\" target=\"_self\">Twitter</a></strong> and <strong><a title=\"BBC Earth Instagram \" href=\"http://instagram.com/bbcearth/\" target=\"_self\">Instagram</a></strong>.</p>","BusinessUnit":"public service","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":null,"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2015-01-15T08:28:34Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"Mystery of the real-life sea serpent","HeadlineShort":"Mystery of real-life sea serpents","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"A huge fish is still baffling scientists centuries after it began terrifying sailors","IsSyndicated":false,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[],"RelatedTag":null,"StoryType":"video","SummaryLong":"A huge fish is still baffling scientists centuries after it began terrifying sailors","SummaryShort":"A huge fish is still a mystery centuries after it began terrifying sailors","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[]},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-01-15T08:28:34Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"50ea9e42-5ddb-4534-8e0b-e9f7fc1c6913","Id":"wwearth/story/20150115-mystery-of-the-real-life-sea-serpent","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-09-21T11:41:24.228617Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20150115-mystery-of-the-real-life-sea-serpent"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20150115-mystery-of-the-real-life-sea-serpent","_id":"598428140b1947497fce97bd"},{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[],"AssetSelect":"ib2video","AssetVideoIb2":[],"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":null,"BodyHtml":"<p>Tarantulas have earned a deadly reputation as a predator capable of killing mice, lizards and small birds.</p><p>But the spiders are known to run in fear from a giant insect.</p><p>The tarantula hawk wasp preys on its namesake, engaging in a ferocious battle that leads to the spider being paralysed with a highly painful sting.</p><p>Females of the species take on tarantulas because their size makes them a perfect meal for the wasp’s larger than average offspring.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02gl559\"}}</p><p>Tarantula hawk wasps have to drag the sleeping spider – which can be up to eight times their weight – to a burrow, lay an egg on the tarantula and seal up the tunnel. The young wasp devours the tarantula in order to develop into an adult, eating the non-essential organs first to keep it alive for as long as possible.</p><p>The deadly fight between spider and wasp is shown on the BBC Two programme <a title=\"Nature's Weirdest Events\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pqmqq\" target=\"_self\">Nature’s Weirdest Events</a>.</p><p><span>“Rather surprisingly the spider doesn’t present any real danger to the wasp,\" says </span>Dr Justin Schmidt, entomologist from the Southwestern Biological Institute.</p><p>“Wasps almost never get killed by a tarantula – at best, maybe one wasp in a hundred is seriously injured or killed.”</p><p>But the spiders flee in terror at the sight of a wasp, their usual threat display of rearing up and baring their fangs failing to have an effect on these females.</p><blockquote><p> The pain is beyond imagination </p></blockquote><p>The pain inflicted by a tarantula hawk’s sting has been rated by Dr Schmidt as one of the worst in the insect world. He created the Schmidt sting pain index as a pain scale of all insect stings.</p><p>“A sting feels like a lightning bolt struck the spot; the pain is beyond imagination,” he says.</p><p>“Fortunately, it lasts only about two to three minutes. It rates a four on the pain scale and is unsurpassed in intensity by any other stinging insect.”</p><p>He says the pain is only beaten by that caused after a sting from a bullet ant, because that pain lasts between 12-24 hours.</p><p><strong>Gender selection</strong></p><p>Tarantula hawks have not only worked out how to successfully attack a predatory spider but also to reserve the best meals for their most valuable offspring.</p><p>The wasps are able to decide the sex of their baby by choosing whether to fertilise the egg or not, fertilised eggs produce females while males come from unfertilised eggs.</p><p>Unlike females males do not have to find and battle tarantulas, they simply seek flowers and a mate and as a result they are not required to grow as large as females. Mother tarantula hawks therefore give their biggest catches to female young, keeping smaller spiders for males.</p><p>As nectar-eaters female tarantula hawks do not normally need to be aggressive, only using their stings to defend themselves, so the question remains how their ancestors first worked out they had the power to take on a tarantula and win.</p><p>“Currently this highly evolved behaviour presents little risk to the wasp,” says Dr Schmidt.</p><p>“But what about the first wasps to attack spiders – the wasps needed to learn (and survive) the skill, and the spider presumably would not be so timid and might view these first wasps as dinner.”</p><p>You can follow BBC Earth on <strong><a title=\"BBC Earth Facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">Facebook</a></strong>, <strong><a title=\"BBC Earth Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/BBCEarth/\" target=\"_self\">Twitter</a></strong> and <strong><a title=\"BBC Earth Instagram\" href=\"http://instagram.com/bbcearth/\" target=\"_self\">Instagram</a></strong>.</p>","BusinessUnit":"public service","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":null,"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2015-01-13T00:17:43Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"The wasp that kills tarantulas","HeadlineShort":"The wasp that kills tarantulas","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"Tarantula hawk wasps turn the tables on fearsome spiders","IsSyndicated":false,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[],"RelatedTag":null,"StoryType":"video","SummaryLong":"Tarantula hawk wasps turn the tables on fearsome spiders","SummaryShort":"Tarantula hawk wasps turn the tables on fearsome spiders","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[]},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-01-13T00:17:43Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"182f75cb-3ed1-4583-a032-149bb5395a96","Id":"wwearth/story/20150109-the-wasp-that-scares-tarantulas","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-09-21T11:42:36.773016Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20150109-the-wasp-that-scares-tarantulas"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20150109-the-wasp-that-scares-tarantulas","_id":"5981d54c0b1947497fcd0340"}],"RelatedTag":null,"StoryType":"video","SummaryLong":"The first recorded case of asthma in a sea otter is being treated with an inhaler by staff at Seattle Aquarium","SummaryShort":"The first recorded case of asthma in a sea otter is treated with an inhaler","SuperSection":null,"Tag":null,"CreationDateTime":"2016-11-02T12:52:54.761961Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"929b6731-e2ef-482f-9ebd-fbcbf34766ec","Id":"wwearth/story/20161102-how-to-treat-the-first-known-sea-otter-with-asthma","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-11-02T12:55:22.91574Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20161102-how-to-treat-the-first-known-sea-otter-with-asthma"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-11-02T12:52:54.761961Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"929b6731-e2ef-482f-9ebd-fbcbf34766ec","Id":"wwearth/story/20161102-how-to-treat-the-first-known-sea-otter-with-asthma","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-11-02T12:55:22.91574Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20161102-how-to-treat-the-first-known-sea-otter-with-asthma"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20161102-how-to-treat-the-first-known-sea-otter-with-asthma","_id":"598324b70b1947497fce0cf4"},{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":34618,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":433,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/3g/mw/p03gmwjl.jpg","SourceWidth":618,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"","SynopsisShort":"Cute rescued otter","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/3g/mw/p03gmwjl.jpg","Title":"Otter pup","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p03gmwjl","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p03gmwjl","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p03gmwjl","_id":"598347450b1947497fce1f3c"}],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[{"Duration":270,"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"videopid","Guid":"","Id":"p03gnn2w","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Thumbnail":[],"Title":"Otter rescue cubs","Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:videopid:p03gnn2w","Vpid":"p03gnn30","_id":"598347460b1947497fce1f3d"}],"AssetSelect":"ib2video","AssetVideoIb2":[{"Duration":270,"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"videopid","Guid":"","Id":"p03gnn2w","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Thumbnail":[],"Title":"Otter rescue cubs","Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:videopid:p03gnn2w","Vpid":"p03gnn30","_id":"598347460b1947497fce1f3d"}],"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":null,"BodyHtml":"<p>These orphaned otter cubs are undeniably cute.</p><p>But in an ideal world they would still be in the wild being cared for by their parents. However, due to the record-breaking rainfall and flooding that Scotland has experienced this winter, they are instead being cared for by a dedicated team at the Scottish National Wildlife Rescue Centre.</p><p>It often comes as a surprise that a water-loving mammal such as an otter can be so badly affected by rain and flooding. But the young aren’t as agile as the adults and get flushed out of their holts and washed away during times of flooding, and without their mothers' care they simply can’t survive on their own.</p><p>The <a title=\"Scottish National Wildlife Rescue Centre\" href=\"https://www.scottishspca.org/rehome/our-centres/national-wildlife-rescue-centre/\" target=\"_self\">Scottish National Wildlife Rescue Centre</a> will care for them until they are a year old and can be released back into the wild when the floods have subsided. But even an experienced team such as this has been taken by surprise by the sheer number of otters being brought to them this year.</p><p>{\"video\":{ \"pid\": \"p03gnn2w\",\"encoding\": \"ib2\" }}</p><p>Michaela Strachan finds out more in the clip above taken from <a title=\"Winterwatch live page\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/exrwhn/live/c2p5d4\" target=\"_self\">Winterwatch</a>, which begins broadcasting on Tuesday 26 January at 20:00 GMT on BBC Two.</p><p>Get in touch with the team on Twitter <a title=\"BBC Springwatch on Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/BBCSpringwatch\" target=\"_self\">@BBCSpringwatch</a> and Facebook <a title=\"BBC Springwatch on Facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/BBCSpringwatch\" target=\"_self\">BBC Springwatch</a>. Share your winter experiences with them using <strong>#Winterwatch</strong> and, if you've spotted anything strangely unseasonable, <strong>#WeirdWinter</strong>.</p>","BusinessUnit":"public service","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":null,"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2016-01-26T15:39:19.655Z","Geolocation":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":[],"CountryCode":"GB","Description":"","GeolocationType":"","Id":"","InternalName":"Scotland, Great-Britain","IsEnabled":true,"Name":"Scotland","Parent":[],"Path":"","WeatherId":"2650225"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-06-25T07:31:03+01:00","Entity":"geolocation","Guid":"c1d868f8-3e93-45ed-826c-8dbe6a9f6424","Id":"geolocation/scotland","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-08-18T11:17:57.265155Z","Project":"","Slug":"scotland"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:geolocation:geolocation/scotland","_id":"5981d2650b1947497fcba7cd"}],"HeadlineLong":"The orphaned otter cubs that need our help","HeadlineShort":"How to rehabilitate a baby otter","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"How 21 otter cubs that were orphaned during Scottish floods are being rehabilitated for release back into the wild","IsSyndicated":false,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[],"AssetSelect":"","AssetVideoIb2":null,"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":null,"BodyHtml":"<p>Tris Enticknap’s study of a family group of otters at Blandford Forum in Dorset, UK is BBC Earth’s Photo of the Day.</p><p>“I’ve been to Blandford dozens of times before in the hope of getting photos of the otters, but have only ever managed to get glimpses of them,\" Tris tells BBC Earth.</p><p>“It was a bitterly cold day and the river had broken the banks in places and was pushing through fast, so I didn't even think about seeing the otters.</p><p>\"Then I heard squeaking and turned round to find the kits right in front of me, turning somersaults and playing happily with mum. They spotted me and stopped their antics long enough to give me the once-over, deciding I was no threat and carried on with their games. Such a thrill for me,\" she said.</p><p>Click or tap the image below to view a larger version, alternatively you can see <a title=\"Otters by Tris Enticknap on Flickr\" href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/trissysviewpoint/16102987559/\" target=\"_blank\">Tris' original image on Flickr.</a></p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02h9txv\"}}</p><p>If you enjoy taking photos of British wildlife, you can add them to the <a title=\"Winterwatch Flickr group\" href=\"https://www.flickr.com/groups/bbcwinterwatch/%20\">Winterwatch Flickr group</a> and your images could appear on BBC Earth.</p><p>Winterwatch continues tonight with live reports from the Scottish Highlands. Catch the best of UK winter wildlife on <a title=\"Winterwatch homepage\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p012msk2%20\" target=\"_blank\">BBC Two at 20:00</a>.</p><p>Spotted an otter by the coast in the last 30 years? If the answer is yes, then the <a title=\"Coastal Otter Project\" href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150116-coastal-homes-for-otters\" target=\"_self\">Swansea University Coastal Otter Project</a> would like to hear from you and help them to record how, when and where otters live on the coast.</p><p>You can follow BBC Earth on <a title=\"BBC Earth twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/bbcearth%20%20\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter</a> or like BBC Earth on <a title=\"BBC Earth Facebook page\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth%20\">Facebook</a>.</p>","BusinessUnit":"public service","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":null,"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2015-01-22T00:00:00Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"Family of otters","HeadlineShort":"Family of otters","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"Tris Enticknap’s study of a family group of otters is BBC Earth’s Photo of the Day","IsSyndicated":false,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[],"RelatedTag":null,"StoryType":"image","SummaryLong":"An otter family by Tris Enticknap is BBC Earth's Photo of the Day","SummaryShort":"An otter family by Tris Enticknap is BBC Earth's Photo of the Day","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[]},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-01-21T11:44:25Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"72a40f84-caf4-4dd1-a7c8-f34654cc5aff","Id":"wwearth/story/20150122-family-of-otters","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:10:39.585117Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20150122-family-of-otters"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20150122-family-of-otters","_id":"59822d910b1947497fcd8d1f"},{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[],"AssetSelect":"","AssetVideoIb2":null,"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":[],"BodyHtml":"<p>I asked my team to send me their cutest animals. Here they are: </p><p>Our editor <a href=\"https://twitter.com/byMJWalker\">Matt Walker</a> goes for these two:</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p031crzj\"}}</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p031cvcp\"}}</p><p>My (<a href=\"https://twitter.com/melissasuzanneh\">Melissa Hogenboom</a>) choices are also obviously cute...</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p031crjj\"}}</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p031crvc\"}}</p><p><a href=\"https://twitter.com/m_c_marshall\">Michael Marshall</a> picks a baby capybara. Rodents can clearly be cute too. </p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p031csqr\"}}</p><p>As is evident by <a href=\"https://twitter.com/HowieTimberlake\">Howard Timberlake</a>'s choice. </p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p031cw75\"}}</p><p>BBC Future's <a href=\"https://twitter.com/d_a_robson\">David Robson</a> picks this adorable red panda cub.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p031cvdk\"}}</p><p><a href=\"https://twitter.com/KSegedin\">Kara Segedin</a> goes for otters.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p031cw26\"}}</p><p>And one for luck, here is a baby sloth which <a href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141013-baby-sloth-born-by-caesarean\">was born by Caesarean</a> section.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p028ncr2\"}}</p><p>What's your cutest animal? Tweet us <a href=\"https://twitter.com/bbcearth\">@bbcearth</a></p>","BusinessUnit":"bbc.com","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":[],"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2015-09-02T13:24:45Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"The world’s cutest animals","HeadlineShort":"The world’s cutest animals","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"Lots of you are sharing cute animals on social media, we joined in #cuteoff","IsSyndicated":true,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[],"RelatedTag":null,"StoryType":"image","SummaryLong":"The internet is arguing over which are the cutest. Here’s our picks","SummaryShort":"The internet is arguing over which are the cutest. Should these win?","SuperSection":null,"Tag":null},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-09-02T13:24:45Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"ab17cf22-0bc4-4cf4-aa2b-3709c4bef0b7","Id":"wwearth/story/20150902-cute-animals","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-02T13:24:45Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20150902-cute-animals"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20150902-cute-animals","_id":"59820b110b1947497fcd7a94"},{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":null,"AssetSelect":"ib2video","AssetVideoIb2":[],"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":null,"BodyHtml":"<p>If your job involved caring for these cute, fluffy faces all day, you'd probably say you had it pretty good.</p><p>And although the elite team of carers at Monterey Bay Aquarium would agree, the job of looking after orphaned and rejected pups is vital and more difficult than you might think.</p><p>The team must wear dark visors when working with the orphaned babies so that the young sea otters don't become used to humans. The pups must be meticulously groomed - a job normally carried out by their mothers - in order to remain dry, fluffy and buoyant.</p><p>And with the densest fur in the animal kingdom, grooming a sea otter can take quite some time.</p><p>But the hardest and yet most rewarding time comes, as anyone who has worked rehabilitating wild animals will tell you, when it's time to release them into the wild.</p><p>This clip was taken from Big Blue Live, a new series on BBC One in the UK and PBS in the US.</p><p><a title=\"BBC Big Blue Live homepage\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02v036z\" target=\"_self\">Click here for more information about Big Blue Live</a>.</p><p>You can follow <a title=\"BBC Earth on Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">BBC Earth</a> on Twitter, Like BBC Earth on <a title=\"BBC Earth on Facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">Facebook</a> and follow us on <a title=\"BBC Earth on Instagram\" href=\"http://instagram.com/bbcearth/\" target=\"_self\">Instagram</a>.</p>","BusinessUnit":"public service","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":[],"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2015-08-19T16:46:17Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"How to be an 'otter fluffer'","HeadlineShort":"How to be an 'otter fluffer'","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"Watch the Monterey Bay Aquarium's dedicated sea otter team caring for a pup before its release","IsSyndicated":false,"Location":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":null,"RelatedTag":[],"StoryType":"video","SummaryLong":"Watch the Monterey Bay Aquarium's dedicated sea otter team caring for a pup before its release","SummaryShort":"Watch Monterey Bay Aquarium's sea otter team caring for a pup before its release","Tag":[]},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-08-19T16:46:17Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"44f93954-4a0a-4a2d-a833-2dc5ebd4dc0d","Id":"wwearth/story/20150819-caring-for-sea-otters","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:07:43.927384Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20150819-caring-for-sea-otters"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20150819-caring-for-sea-otters","_id":"5983a0660b1947497fce510d"},{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[],"AssetImagePromo":[],"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[],"AssetSelect":"","AssetVideoIb2":null,"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":[],"BodyHtml":"<p>November 30 is Saint Andrew’s Day, Scotland's national day. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, among other countries, and provides the inspiration for Scotland’s flag – the Saltire Cross, or Saint Andrew's Cross – among other things.</p><p>Top among the reasons to celebrate should be Scotland's wonderful wildlife, be that on land, in the sea or up in the air.</p><p><strong>By land:</strong></p><p>Some of the UK’s most iconic and rarest animals and plants can be found, and even thrive, in Scotland.</p><p><strong>Thistle</strong></p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03913g1\"}}</p><p>There is only one place to start the celebrations and that’s with the national emblem of Scotland: the thistle. This prickly plant stands proud throughout most of the country and has been the country's emblem for hundreds of years. No one really knows how it came about, but one famous legend dates from the reign of King Alexander the third in the 13th Century. The story goes that while barefooted invading Norsemen were trying to surprise sleeping clansmen, one of them trod on a thistle and his resulting cry of pain alerted the defenders, who defeated the invaders and the battle was won.</p><p><a title=\"Historic UK: how thistle become emblem of Scotland\" href=\"http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-Thistle-National-Emblem-of-Scotland/\" target=\"_self\">Find out more about how the thistle became the national emblem of Scotland.</a></p><p><strong>Scottish wildcat</strong></p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03913q7\"}}</p><p>Representing the wild and mysterious spirit of the highlands of Scotland is the Scottish wildcat. They look somewhat similar to tabby house cats, but these are far from your domestic moggy. They’re elusive, muscular and skilled predators, and Scotland is the last stronghold for Britain’s only wild cat. Nobody really knows how many wildcats are left in Scotland, but estimates suggest it could be as low as 100 or less. The greatest threat to their future is from mating with domestic and feral cats, producing fertile offspring that dilutes the genetic pool. Whether they are an isolated island population of the European wildcat (<em>Felis silvestris silvestris</em>) or a distinct subspecies (<em>Felis silvestris grampia</em>) is still being debated.</p><p><a title=\"Save the Scottish wildcat: history and identification\" href=\"http://www.scottishwildcats.co.uk/wildcat.html\" target=\"_self\">Discover more about wildcat history and identification from Save the Scottish Wildcat.</a></p><p><strong>Red squirrel</strong></p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03913yx\"}}</p><p>Britain’s mammals don’t come any more recognisable than the iconic red squirrel. They are coming under increasing threat from grey squirrels in most of the UK and the <a title=\"BBC Earth: conservation of red squirrels\" href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20150924-how-conservation-is-saving-our-red-squirrels\" target=\"_self\">subject of many conservation efforts</a>. Scotland has a population of 120,000 or so, representing over 75% of the UK's total, making it one of the best places to catch a glimpse of this adorable animal. Thankfully the population seems to be stable, but is still of critical importance.</p><p><a title=\"Report a sighting of a red squirrel in Scotland\" href=\"http://scottishsquirrels.org.uk/\" target=\"_self\">Report a sighting of a red squirrel in Scotland to Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels.</a></p><p><strong>By sea:</strong></p><p>Unsurprisingly Scotland is one of the best places in Europe to see marine mammals because of its coastline and islands.</p><p><strong>Bottlenose dolphin</strong></p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03914c7\"}}</p><p>Bottlenose dolphins are one of Scotland’s much loved and best known marine cetaceans and should need no introduction. They travel in pods and have entertained many people with their playful jumping and leaping out of the water. It’s possible to see bottlenose dolphins anywhere around the coast of Scotland, however the Moray Firth deserves a special mention as it is one of the best places to see them in the UK and it supports the only known resident population of bottlenose dolphins in the North Sea.</p><p><a title=\"Wild Scotland: the bottlenose dolphin\" href=\"http://www.wild-scotland.org.uk/species/61/bottlenose-dolphin/\" target=\"_self\">More about the bottlenose dolphin from Wild Scotland.</a></p><p><strong>Minke whale</strong></p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p0391467\"}}</p><p>The magnificent minke whale is the smallest and most common of the baleen whales to be seen in Scottish waters. Despite its \"diminutive\" size they are still an impressively big animal, measuring up to 9m long and weighing in at 10 tonnes. Other than size, the things to look out for when watching for minke whales are the long, arched back, blow hole and the sickle-shaped dorsal fin when they come up for a breath. Minke are increasingly being spotted around the coast of Scotland, as they come to shallower areas to feed close to small islands and headlands, often close to land and even entering estuaries, bays and inlets. The best time of year to keep a lookout is between the months of July and September.</p><p><a title=\"Scottish Natural History: the minke whale\" href=\"http://www.snh.gov.uk/about-scotlands-nature/species/mammals/marine-mammals/minke-whale/\" target=\"_self\">Delve a little deeper into the lives of Scottish minke whales with Wild Scotland.</a></p><p><strong>Atlantic salmon</strong></p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03914hn\"}}</p><p>Scotland is home to some of the most amazing displays of acrobatics and sheer determination in the natural world. Come late autumn / early winter some of Scotland’s rivers seem to come alive with Atlantic salmon jumping and leaping up waterfalls, weirs and fish passes on their way to spawn in the same stretch of river they were born in. With some launching themselves over 3m it’s a real achievement and spectacle to watch. Most die after spawning, a few return to the sea. The eggs hatch in the spring and over the course of two to three years the young \"fry\" become larger, known as \"parr\", and then they transform into the \"smolts\", which return to the sea.</p><p><a title=\"The Atlantic salmon trust\" href=\"http://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/where-to-see-salmon/index.html\" target=\"_self\">See the complicated and poorly understood life cycle and migration pattern of Atlantic salmon.</a></p><p><strong>By air:</strong></p><p>From the small and colourful to mighty predators, Scotland is home to a fascinating range of bird life. It’s hard to pick just three.</p><p><strong>Golden eagle</strong></p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03914q0\"}}</p><p>If there is one bird that sums up Scotland’s wild and free side it must be the golden eagle. These majestic and powerful birds of prey are an awe-inspiring sight, as they use their two metre wingspan to soar and glide the air currents high over the highlands and islands. Scotland boasts over 400 pairs of golden eagles, which famously nest for generations at the same site, known as an eyrie. As impressive as the golden eagle is, it still isn’t the UK’s largest bird of prey. That title belongs to another of Scotland's feathered inhabitants – the mighty white-tailed eagle.</p><p><a title=\"Scottish Raptor Study Group: golden eagle\" href=\"http://www.scottishraptorstudygroup.org/goldeneagle.html\" target=\"_self\">The Scottish Raptor Study Group has much more on the golden eagle.</a></p><p><strong>Scottish crossbill</strong></p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03914w8\"}}</p><p>Although a mere fraction of the size of the golden eagle, the Scottish crossbill is no less impressive. Partly because of the specialised crossed bill tips that expertly extract seeds from conifer cones; partly because they were confirmed as a species in their own right, making them the UK’s only endemic species – one found nowhere else on Earth – of bird. It was once considered a subspecies of the very similar common crossbill, but they don’t interbreed and have different calls and different sized bills. As you might expect they’re confined to the pine forests of the Highlands.</p><p><a title=\"Scottish Wildlife Trust: Scottish crossbill\" href=\"http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/visit/wildlife/s/scottish-crossbill/\" target=\"_self\">Find out more about the unique Scottish crossbill with the Scotland's Wildlfe Trust.</a></p><p><strong>Capercaillie</strong></p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p039150z\"}}</p><p>There aren’t many more distinctive birds in Scotland than the capercaillie, or many that are as threatened. These large, stately gamebirds are confined to the native pinewoods around Strathspey and could be less than 2,000 in number, down from the 20,000 of the 1970s. Male capercailles are perhaps best known for their showy spring time \"leks\", which is when they gather at a clearing and show off to the females – it’s quite the sight and even more of a sound.</p><p><a title=\"RSPB: capercaillie\" href=\"https://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/c/capercaillie/\" target=\"_self\">Read the RSPB's guide to capercaillies.</a></p><p>Find out more about who <a title=\"Who was Saint Andrew?\" href=\"http://www.scotland.org/whats-on/st-andrews-day/who-is-st-andrew/\" target=\"_self\">Saint Andrew</a> was and how he became the <a title=\"How Saint Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland\" href=\"http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/St-Andrew-Patron-Saint-of-Scotland/\" target=\"_self\">patron saint of Scotland</a>. So a happy St Andrew’s Day and let the celebrations of all things Scottish begin!</p><p>Follow <a title=\"Jeremy Coles on Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/jpcoles\" target=\"_self\">Jeremy Coles</a> and and <a title=\"BBC Earth on Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">BBC Earth</a> on Twitter.</p><p>Like BBC Earth on <a title=\"BBC Earth on Facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_self\">Facebook</a> and follow us on <a title=\"BBC Earth on Instagram\" href=\"http://instagram.com/bbcearth/\" target=\"_self\">Instagram</a>.</p>","BusinessUnit":"public service","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":null,"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2015-11-30T00:01:00Z","Geolocation":[],"HeadlineLong":"Celebrating Scotland’s wildlife by land, sea and air","HeadlineShort":"9 images celebrating Scottish wildlife","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"What better time to marvel at Scotland's magnificent, and in some cases unique, wildlife than on Saint Andrew's Day","IsSyndicated":false,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[],"RelatedTag":null,"StoryType":"slideshow","SummaryLong":"What better time to marvel at Scotland's magnificent, and in some cases unique, wildlife than on Saint Andrew's Day","SummaryShort":"Celebrate Scotland’s natural history this Saint Andrew’s Day","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[]},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-11-26T16:12:20.242706Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"250d6d5f-9a99-4ec9-889e-b7f4febc6d25","Id":"wwearth/story/20151125-celebrating-scotlands-wildlife-by-land-sea-and-air","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-11-26T16:33:19.658759Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20151125-celebrating-scotlands-wildlife-by-land-sea-and-air"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20151125-celebrating-scotlands-wildlife-by-land-sea-and-air","_id":"59829ab40b1947497fcdc679"}],"RelatedTag":null,"StoryType":"video","SummaryLong":"Michaela Strachan visits the Scottish National Wildlife Rescue Centre to see how 21 otter cubs that were orphaned during floods are being rehabilitated for release back into the wild","SummaryShort":"When orphaned otter cubs need our help back to the wild","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"","LinkUrl":"","Name":"Winter","CreationDateTime":"2015-11-05T10:41:14.727257Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"205f1411-8737-44c6-815c-109bdbce26ac","Id":"tag/winter","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-11-05T10:41:14.727257Z","Project":"","Slug":"winter"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-11-05T10:41:14.727257Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"205f1411-8737-44c6-815c-109bdbce26ac","Id":"tag/winter","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-11-05T10:41:14.727257Z","Project":"","Slug":"winter"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:tag:tag/winter","_id":"5981d5c70b1947497fcd4aaa"},{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"","LinkUrl":"","Name":"Water","CreationDateTime":"2014-12-02T12:22:44Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"e19fbc34-93b1-46d2-a9f4-a3b49740ab03","Id":"tag/water","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:18:02.234306Z","Project":"","Slug":"water"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2014-12-02T12:22:44Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"e19fbc34-93b1-46d2-a9f4-a3b49740ab03","Id":"tag/water","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:18:02.234306Z","Project":"","Slug":"water"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:tag:tag/water","_id":"5981d5cd0b1947497fcd510a"},{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"","LinkUrl":"","Name":"Mammal","CreationDateTime":"2015-07-16T10:28:44Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"da36b283-2c46-49fe-9975-75d4cbbdd375","Id":"tag/mammal","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:17:37.591141Z","Project":"","Slug":"mammal"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-07-16T10:28:44Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"da36b283-2c46-49fe-9975-75d4cbbdd375","Id":"tag/mammal","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:17:37.591141Z","Project":"","Slug":"mammal"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:tag:tag/mammal","_id":"5981d5c60b1947497fcd4a6f"}],"CreationDateTime":"2016-01-26T17:44:38.837844Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"1e1778f4-db9e-4d0d-be61-9f80fb0ed749","Id":"wwearth/story/20160126-the-rehabilitation-of-orphaned-otter-cubs","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-01-26T18:16:35.421767Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20160126-the-rehabilitation-of-orphaned-otter-cubs"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-01-26T17:44:38.837844Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"1e1778f4-db9e-4d0d-be61-9f80fb0ed749","Id":"wwearth/story/20160126-the-rehabilitation-of-orphaned-otter-cubs","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-01-26T18:16:35.421767Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20160126-the-rehabilitation-of-orphaned-otter-cubs"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20160126-the-rehabilitation-of-orphaned-otter-cubs","_id":"598347470b1947497fce1f3e"},{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":2012972,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":2883,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/43/84/p04384rk.jpg","SourceWidth":5126,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"Losing our fur helped us become the humans we are today (Credit: SPL/Alamy)","SynopsisShort":"Losing our fur helped us become the humans we are today (Credit: SPL/Alamy)","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/43/84/p04384rk.jpg","Title":"Science Photo Library - Alamy Stock Photo D6HBA1.jpg","CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p04384rk","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p04384rk","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p04384rk","_id":"598209140b1947497fcd798d"}],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":1830015,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":2932,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/43/80/p043808l.jpg","SourceWidth":5212,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"We have very little hair when we are born (Credit: Cultura RM/Alamy)","SynopsisShort":"We have very little hair when we are born (Credit: Cultura RM/Alamy)","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/43/80/p043808l.jpg","Title":"Cultura RM -Alamy Stock Photo CPTEGD.jpg"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p043808l","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p043808l","_id":"5982090c0b1947497fcd7985"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":2783992,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":3123,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/43/82/p04382zb.jpg","SourceWidth":5552,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"Patas monkeys sweat a lot too (Credit: Anup Shah/Naturepl.com)","SynopsisShort":"Patas monkeys sweat a lot too (Credit: Anup Shah/Naturepl.com)","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/43/82/p04382zb.jpg","Title":"Anup Shah-npl.jpg"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p04382zb","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p04382zb","_id":"598209110b1947497fcd798a"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":3281992,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":2479,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/43/84/p0438493.jpg","SourceWidth":4408,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"Homo erectus might have used fire to keep warm at night (Credit: Christian Jegou/Public Photo Diffusion/SPL)","SynopsisShort":"Homo erectus might have been used fire to keep warm","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/43/84/p0438493.jpg","Title":"CHRISTIAN JEGOU PUBLIPHOTO DIFFUSION-E4380066-Tribe_of_homo_erectus_making_weapons-SPL.jpg"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p0438493","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p0438493","_id":"5982090d0b1947497fcd7987"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":2012972,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":2883,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/43/84/p04384rk.jpg","SourceWidth":5126,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"Losing our fur helped us become the humans we are today (Credit: SPL/Alamy)","SynopsisShort":"Losing our fur helped us become the humans we are today (Credit: SPL/Alamy)","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/43/84/p04384rk.jpg","Title":"Science Photo Library - Alamy Stock Photo D6HBA1.jpg"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p04384rk","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p04384rk","_id":"598209140b1947497fcd798d"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":2984114,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":3147,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/43/80/p04380ty.jpg","SourceWidth":5595,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"Our closest living relatives have much more hair than us (Credit: Martha Holmes/Naturepl.com)","SynopsisShort":"Chimps have much more hair than us (Credit: Martha Holmes/Naturepl.com)","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/43/80/p04380ty.jpg","Title":"Martha Holmes-npl01014012.jpg"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p04380ty","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p04380ty","_id":"598209120b1947497fcd798b"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":1453515,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":2564,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/43/82/p043823j.jpg","SourceWidth":4558,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"Lucy could already walk upright 3.2 million years ago (Credit: Elisabeth Daynes/SPL)","SynopsisShort":"Lucy could already walk upright (Credit: Elisabeth Daynes/SPL)","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/43/82/p043823j.jpg","Title":"C0208118-Australopithecine_Lucy-SPL.jpg"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p043823j","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p043823j","_id":"59838edb0b1947497fce47ff"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":2427835,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":2163,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/43/83/p04383r7.jpg","SourceWidth":3846,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"Our ability to run for many hours is thought to be key to our success (Credit: Image Source Plus/Alamy)","SynopsisShort":"Our ability to run for many hours is believed to be key to our success","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/43/83/p04383r7.jpg","Title":"Image Source Plus - Alamy Stock Photo AKRBFP.jpg"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p04383r7","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p04383r7","_id":"598394aa0b1947497fce4b27"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":2498369,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":3150,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/43/84/p04384g3.jpg","SourceWidth":5600,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"Some people are hairier than others (Credit: Cultura Creative/Alamy)","SynopsisShort":"Some people have more hair than others (Credit: Cultura Creative/Alamy)","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/43/84/p04384g3.jpg","Title":"Cultura Creative (RF) Alamy Stock Photo .jpg"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p04384g3","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p04384g3","_id":"5982090c0b1947497fcd7986"},{"Content":{"FileSizeBytes":3215600,"MimeType":"image/jpeg","SourceHeight":2925,"SourceUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/live-galileo-interface-mt-resources-imagebucket-1a92e5tj3b5d6/p0/43/84/p0438401.jpg","SourceWidth":5200,"SynopsisLong":"","SynopsisMedium":"We should be thankful that we sweat so much when we get hot (Credit: Image Source/Alamy)","SynopsisShort":"We should be thankful that we sweat so much when we get hot (Credit: Image Source/Alamy)","TemplateUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/$recipe/images/live/p0/43/84/p0438401.jpg","Title":"Image Source - Alamy Stock PhotoCR8MCC.jpg"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Entity":"","Guid":"","Id":"p0438401","ModifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","Project":"","Slug":""},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:image:p0438401","_id":"5982090f0b1947497fcd7989"}],"AssetSelect":"","AssetVideoIb2":null,"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":[],"Description":"","Email":[],"Links":null,"Name":"Melissa Hogenboom","PrimaryVertical":"wwearth"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2014-11-20T10:38:02Z","Entity":"author","Guid":"41db68c7-5a21-4f5c-bb0e-8540c2adcc3b","Id":"wwearth/author/melissa-hogenboom","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-04-19T16:13:25.465774Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"melissa-hogenboom"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:author:wwearth/author/melissa-hogenboom","_id":"5981d23a0b1947497fcb8857"}],"BodyHtml":"<p>Look closely at your friends, family and even strangers. Spot anything strange?</p><p>Ignore any large noses or unusually-shaped brows. Instead, look at their hair – or rather, the lack of it.</p><p>It might not seem strange, because we are used to having relatively little hair covering our bodies. But when we compare ourselves to the rest of the mammals, and our closest living ape cousins, it is downright bizarre that we are the only large-bodied mammal with so little of it.</p><p>Unlike hairy chimpanzees and bonobos – and all other primates – most of our skin is on display. We have evolved this way, even though fur is beneficial: it insulates and protects the skin, and in some cases acts as a useful camouflage. So if it is so advantageous, why did we lose so much of it?</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p043808l\"}}</p><p>It was Charles Darwin who first taught the public that humans are descended from an ape-like ancestor. He also wondered why we had so little hair.</p><blockquote><p> Something must have created an evolutionary pressure for these hominins to lose their fur </p></blockquote><p>\"No one supposes that the nakedness of the skin is any direct advantage to man; his body, therefore, cannot have been divested of hair through natural selection,\" <a href=\"http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F955&viewtype=text&pageseq=1\">Darwin wrote in <em>The Descent of Man</em></a>.</p><p>He proposed that we lost much of our fur due to sexual selection: we preferred hairless mates, and that is why hairlessness became common.</p><p>But that cannot be the whole picture. Before a preference for hairlessness began, we first had to start losing hair.</p><p>Our earliest human-like ancestors, known as hominins, were ape-like. For them, fur would have been useful, keeping them warm on cold nights.</p><p>Something must have created an evolutionary pressure for these hominins to lose their fur.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p04380ty\"}}</p><p>A few million years ago, there were several hominin species roaming the Earth. These included <a href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141127-lucy-fossil-revealed-our-origins\">the famous fossil known as \"Lucy\"</a>, an <em>Australopithecus afarensis</em> from 3.2 million years ago.</p><blockquote><p> If the hominins were covered in hair, they could not have lost heat fast enough </p></blockquote><p>These hominins were ape-like. Lucy was a lot like a chimpanzee, except that she could walk upright and had a slightly bigger brain. Her skin was not preserved, but she was probably covered with fur.</p><p>However, between two and three millions years ago our ancestors began to inhabit more open savannahs. This meant they were out in the Sun's glaring heat for many more hours each day.</p><p>Around the same time, <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1222579110\">they also started to hunt and eat more meat</a> – and game animals were more abundant in the open. This move into open spaces offered an explanation for our lack of hair.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p043823j\"}}</p><p>In the 1990s, <a href=\"https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/staff-profiles/faculty-of-science/executive-dean/peter-wheeler\">Peter Wheeler</a> of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK came up with a mathematical model showing how much excess heat hominins would need to lose in open habitats in order to function. If their brains got too hot, their thought processes would be impaired.</p><p>If the hominins were covered in hair, they could not have lost heat fast enough. Wheeler reasoned that two related changes happened that allowed our ancestors to keep cool.</p><blockquote><p> Early humans could keep going because of their ability to \"dump the heat\" via sweating </p></blockquote><p>One was an upright gait. Walking on two legs meant that only the tops of their bodies were under direct sunlight.</p><p>But the hominins also started running long distances. This meant they could bring down large game animals by running them to exhaustion, but it also put them at risk of over-heating. To cope with that, they needed to lose their fur – in order to help them sweat.</p><p>Hominins as hairy as chimpanzees could not cope with blazing midday sunlight. Unable to hunt or forage, they would have to hide in the shade, wasting hours of precious time. Similarly, modern chimpanzees stay in shady forests.</p><p>In contrast, early humans could keep going because of their ability to \"dump the heat\" via sweating, says <a href=\"https://www.psy.ox.ac.uk/team/tamas-david-barrett\">Tamás Dávid<strong>-</strong>Barrett</a> of the University of Oxford in the UK.</p><p>\"It would be [an] enormous advantage to be able to spend the entire midday foraging, finding mates or fighting enemies,\" he says. \"Sweating allows that, and for sweat to be efficient you need to be mostly hairless. That is the reason why sweating is a useful thing and hence why hair loss is a useful thing.\"</p><p>Our sweaty hairlessness, the theory goes, allowed us to hunt for longer, chasing nutritious large game that eventually helped give us the energy we needed to fuel growing brains.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p04382zb\"}}</p><p>Today, <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0210-42\">humans are the sweatiest primates alive</a>. We have up to five million sweat glands, called eccrine glands. They produce a maximum of <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0210-42\">about 12 litres of the stuff per day</a>, according to estimates made by anthropologist <a href=\"http://anth.la.psu.edu/people/ngj2\">Nina Jablonski</a> of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, US.</p><blockquote><p> Our upright gait did come in handy when early humans moved into a hotter, more open lifestyle </p></blockquote><p>While other primates sweat, they do not have such high-density sweat glands, says Jablonski. The few that approach human levels of sweatiness seem to have evolved that way for similar reasons.</p><p>For instance, the tropical and fast-running <a href=\"http://eol.org/pages/311175/overview\">patas monkey</a> has lots of eccrine glands. \"They almost certainly evolved this relatively high density of sweat glands for the same reason that humans did, to stay cool,\" says Jablonski. \"They did not go as far as we did, however, in losing all body hair.\"</p><p>However, since Wheeler proposed his ideas we have learned that hominins were upright walkers long before they began to inhabit more open environments. Lucy could walk on two legs, but she lived long before climatic changed pushed later species into less forested environments.</p><p>This means walking upright may not have been a major contributing factor for hairlessness. The hominins were simply not running all that much yet.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p04383r7\"}}</p><p>However, our upright gait did come in handy when early humans moved into a hotter, more open lifestyle.</p><p>Their ability to walk upright and, eventually, run, would have been a considerable advantage, both to hunt prey and avoid predators. At this point, walking upright could drive the loss of more hair, and vice versa.</p><blockquote><p> We lost our heavy coat of hair and gained more sweat glands probably at about the same time </p></blockquote><p>\"The less hairy you are, the more advantage you get from being bipedal, and the more time you spend [upright], the more advantage you get from losing hair,\" says Dávid<strong>-</strong>Barrett. \"These two could have been co-evolving.\"</p><p>The key question, then, may be when hominins began running in earnest. One extinct hominin had the perfect anatomy for running.</p><p><em>Homo erectus</em> first appeared on Earth about 1.8 million years ago. They stood upright and had larger brains than several of their forebears. <em>H. erectus</em> was also the first early human to venture out of Africa, and is believed to be our direct ancestor.</p><p>This fits with Jablonski's ideas. \"We lost our heavy coat of hair and gained more sweat glands probably at about the same time, during the course of the early evolution of the genus <em>Homo</em>,\" she says.</p><p>Crucially, <em>H. erectus</em> had <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cphy.c140011\">a body heavily adapted for running</a>. They had <a href=\"https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18728-achilles-tendon-is-key-to-evolution-of-human-running/\">long Achilles tendons</a>, which chimps and gorillas do not have, and narrow waists and shoulders – allowing their bodies and heads to rotate independently.</p><p>At this point the story starts to look quite neat. However, there has long been a flaw in the sweat-cooling hypothesis that did not sit well with Dávid-Barrett.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p0438493\"}}</p><p>Wheeler's early models did not account for the fact that hominins had to keep warm at night, when the temperature dropped considerably. Without fur, they would have had little protection from the cold.</p><p>Dávid-Barrett and his colleague Robin Dunbar have tried to iron out this wrinkle their ideas were <a href=\"http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248416000300\">published in the May 2016 <em>Journal of Human Evolution</em></a>.</p><p>They argue that, in order to survive without fur at night, hominins needed to burn many more calories. That means our ancestors needed to fuel their bodies with calorie-rich food during the day.</p><p>Dávid-Barrett argues that we could only do this when we started regularly eating cooked food.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p04384g3\"}}</p><p>According to a much-discussed hypothesis first put forward by <a href=\"http://environment.harvard.edu/about/faculty/richard-wrangham\">Richard Wrangham</a> of Harvard University, hominins began cooking their food as much as two million years ago. Wrangham was trying to explain how hominins acquired such big brains, but his idea could also explain how our ancestors survived cold nights without fur.</p><p>Dávid-Barrett points out that, if hominins were cooking food, they must have been using fire. As well as providing them with a better diet, the heat from the fires would have kept them warm at night.</p><p>However, this idea only holds up if cooking really is as ancient as Wrangham suggested. There is no archaeological evidence that hominins were using fire two million years ago, and <a href=\"http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v531/n7595/full/nature16990.html\">a study published in March 2016</a> argued that cooking only became common about 500,000 years ago.</p><p>Despite these difficulties, the sweating hypothesis remains the leading explanation for why we lost our hair. However, there are other ideas out there.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p0438401\"}}</p><p>One suggestion was that early humans spent much of their time in water, so like walruses and whales they needed hair-free skin to swim effectively. However, this \"aquatic ape\" idea is largely discredited. If nothing else, plenty of aquatic animals have fur and swim just fine: fur seals and otters are but two examples.</p><p>Another idea was that we lost our hair to rid ourselves of parasites. The trouble with this is that does not explain why other primates kept their hair.</p><blockquote><p> The assumption is that there is an ocean of bare skin between the two </p></blockquote><p>However, over the last 20 years scientists have begun to turn to a new source of evidence: genetics.</p><p><a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/381006\">A 2004 study</a> found that a variant of the <em>MC1R</em> gene, which is known to be important for darker skin colour, was already present 1.2 million years ago.</p><p>This is telling, because naked skin would only get darker after it was repeatedly exposed to heat. The first patches of fur-free skin were probably pink, after which the tropical sun quickly pushed the evolution of dark skin. The presence of the <em>MC1R</em> variant suggests that our ancestors were on the path to dark skin, and therefore hairlessness, by 1.2 million years ago.</p><p>Futher evidence, this time from lice, backs this up. <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1741-7007-5-7\">A study published in 2004</a> examined the evolution of the lice that sometimes infest our hair. Different species live in our pubic hair and head hair, and the researchers found that the two diverged 1.18 million years ago.</p><p>\"The assumption is that there is an ocean of bare skin between the two,\" says <a href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Wilkinson16\">Dave Wilkinson</a> of Liverpool John Moores University. So the split in the lice reflects the loss of the hair on our chests. \"It's a good a guess as any,\" he says. These two lineages could also be explained by \"direct physical contact between modern and archaic forms of <em>Homo</em>,\" the authors propose. </p><p>A big problem for all studies of our hair loss is that the genetic instructions that caused it remain mysterious. Geneticists do not fully understand how our eccrine glands are made.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p04384rk\"}}</p><p>They are now getting closer to finding out. In 2015, <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1511680112\">by tweaking genes in mice</a>, scientists showed that the production of sweat glands is closely connected to the production of hair.</p><blockquote><p> The loss of our hair is tied up with our propensity to sweat </p></blockquote><p>\"Developmentally, in the embryo, these organs are both derived from the skin,\" says lead author <a href=\"https://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g306/p1971822\">Yana Kamberov</a> of the University of Pennsylvania. \"Both are hearing signals from the same source, the skin is deciding which one to make, and they are being made in the same shared space.\"</p><p>Crucially, her team found that sweat and hair gland production are inversely related. When a certain gene was highly active, the mice had more sweat glands than hair, but if the gene was inactive, the mice were hairier and had fewer sweat glands.</p><p>The details are still hard to come by. \"We don't know when the changes occurred,\" says Kamberov. \"We don't know if humans lost their fur first and then there was an expansion of sweat glands, or whether it was concurrent.\"</p><p>Nevertheless, Kamberov's work suggests that Wheeler was right all along, at least in outline. The loss of our hair is tied up with our propensity to sweat, even at the genetic level – and that in turn is bound up with our ability to run and catch big game, and thus to feed our big brains.</p><p>Now take another look at your strangely hairless friends. It is undoubtedly odd that we are so short of fur. But it seems this is not just an accident of evolution: it is tied up with the evolutionary changes that make us who we are.</p><p><em>Join over five million BBC Earth fans by liking us on <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook</a>, or follow us on <a href=\"https://twitter.com/bbcearth\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter</a> and <a href=\"https://instagram.com/bbcearth/\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram</a>.</em></p><p><em>If you liked this story, <a href=\"http://pages.emails.bbc.com/subscribe/?ocid=ear.bbc.email.we.email-signup\" target=\"_blank\">sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter</a> called \"If You Only Read 6 Things This Week\". A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital, Travel and Autos, delivered to your inbox every Friday.</em></p>","BusinessUnit":"worldwide","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":[],"Campaign":null,"CollectionOverrides":null,"CollectionType":"column","Description":"The road to humanity - how did we get here?","Name":"Almost human","Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Title":"Almost human","CreationDateTime":"2015-08-31T16:11:39.418685Z","Entity":"collection","Guid":"5d5ccecb-8491-4f63-9b03-96847877dbd0","Id":"wwearth/column/almost-human","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T14:54:33.464054Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"column/almost-human"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-08-31T16:11:39.418685Z","Entity":"collection","Guid":"5d5ccecb-8491-4f63-9b03-96847877dbd0","Id":"wwearth/column/almost-human","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T14:54:33.464054Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"column/almost-human"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:collection:wwearth/column/almost-human","_id":"5981d23e0b1947497fcb8ee0"}],"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2016-08-02T07:00:00Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"Our weird lack of hair may be the key to our success","HeadlineShort":"Why we have so little hair","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"Compared to other apes and indeed all other mammals, humans are practically bald, and this may have allowed our species to thrive","IsSyndicated":true,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option/publish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Project":"","Slug":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:option:option/publish-applenews-system-1","_id":"5981d4ee0b1947497fccd0ce"}],"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":null,"AssetSelect":"ib2video","AssetVideoIb2":[],"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":[],"BodyHtml":"<p><em>This story is part of BBC Earth's \"<a href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161219-here-are-bbc-earths-ten-best-stories-of-2016\">Best of 2016</a>\" list, our greatest hits of the year. <a href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161219-here-are-bbc-earths-ten-best-stories-of-2016\">Browse the full list</a>.</em></p><p>For decades, we've thought of our Neanderthal cousins as brutish, primitive beings. Second-class humans driven extinct by their own fallibility and stupidity.</p><p>But as we are fast learning, the truth about who they were and how they died is far more intriguing.</p><p>In a special series, BBC Earth has recreated the last days of the last Neanderthal.</p><p>To find out more about the discoveries revolutionising our understanding of Neanderthals, watch the films above and below:</p><p><a title=\"BBC Earth\" href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160712-what-killed-the-neanderthals\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>What killed the Neanderthals?</strong></a><br />Did we really drive our human relatives extinct?</p><p><a title=\"BBC Earth\" href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160712-how-neanderthal-are-you\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>How Neanderthal are you?</strong></a><br />What do you owe to our ancient cousins?</p><p><a title=\"BBC Earth\" href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160712-how-human-were-neanderthals\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>How human were Neanderthals?</strong></a><br />They were as special as our ancestors</p><p><a title=\"BBC Earth\" href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160712-did-neanderthals-create-art\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Did Neanderthals create art?</strong></a><br />A stunning engraving suggests they did</p><p><em>Join over five million BBC Earth fans by liking us on </em><a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth\"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, or follow us on </em><a href=\"https://twitter.com/bbcearth\"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href=\"https://instagram.com/bbcearth/\"><em>Instagram</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>If you liked this story, </em><a href=\"http://pages.emails.bbc.com/subscribe/?ocid=ear.bbc.email.we.email-signup\"><em>sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter</em></a><em> called \"If You Only Read 6 Things This Week\". A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital, Travel and Autos, delivered to your inbox every Friday</em>.</p>","BusinessUnit":"worldwide","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":[],"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2016-07-14T15:58:34Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"The last Neanderthal","HeadlineShort":"The last Neanderthal","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"A special video series telling the real story of how our extinct relative lived and died","IsSyndicated":true,"Location":null,"Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":null,"RelatedTag":null,"StoryType":"video","SummaryLong":"The real story of how our extinct relative lived and died","SummaryShort":"The real story of how our extinct relative lived and died","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[]},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-07-14T08:33:07.487809Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"8a14287f-9ae6-434c-a95d-84d1a3a9051a","Id":"wwearth/story/20160711-the-last-neanderthal","ModifiedDateTime":"2017-01-31T11:51:06.436333Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20160711-the-last-neanderthal"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20160711-the-last-neanderthal","_id":"598235d30b1947497fcd9197"},{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[],"AssetSelect":"","AssetVideoIb2":null,"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":[],"BodyHtml":"<p>Our ancient human ancestors were an elusive lot. Their remains are literally thin on the ground, and even when fossils are unearthed it is rare for them to be complete. Sometimes they must be pieced together from dozens of fragments.</p><p>That is why a staggering find in 1984 excited the entire field, and continues to do so today over 30 years later.</p><p>It was a skeleton of a young boy, discovered at Lake Turkana in the deserts of northern Kenya. He died when he was <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.06.007\">about eight years old</a> and his bones sank into the sediments of the lake, where they were preserved for 1.5 million years. He was, and is, the most complete early-human fossil ever discovered.</p><p>Yet \"Turkana Boy\" is just one of many early human fossils discovered near the lake. Together they span four million years of human evolution. This one spot has told us a huge amount about where we came from and how our ancestors lived.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03b2jwz\"}}</p><p>Today Lake Turkana lies in the midst of a dry, hostile desert environment. But this was not always the case.</p><p><a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0037-0738(82)90011-2\">About two million years ago</a>, the lake was much larger and the surrounding area was greener. Since then, rapid changes in the climate have <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0076750\">periodically caused the lake to shrink</a>, and occasionally it has disappeared altogether.</p><blockquote><p> Before long fossils of numerous species were tumbling out of the ground </p></blockquote><p>During the wetter times, it was an ideal place for early humans to live, and when they died it was a perfect place for their remains to fossilise. That's because Lake Turkana lies in a volcanic area, where tectonic activity can move Earth's crust and create new layers. It is within these layers that fossils from different time periods are found. </p><p>\"Those are all great circumstances where you can have bones that get buried in the sand and that becomes sandstone,\" says <a href=\"https://www.ucl.ac.uk/cdb/research/spoor\">Fred Spoor</a> of University College London in the UK. Periods of heavy rainfall have since eroded many of these layers, exposing the fossils more clearly.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03b2kd1\"}}</p><p>Excavations at the lake started in 1968 when <a href=\"http://www.turkanabasin.org/about/welcome-from-richard-leakey/\">Richard Leakey</a> of the Turkana Basin Institute led a group to the eastern side, known as the Koobi Fora. It was an enormous area, but aerial views had suggested that there were lots of fossils to be found.</p><p>\"My idea was to start at one end and work our way to the other end,\" says Leakey. The first few years were \"a bit of an adventure\", but before long fossils of numerous species \"were tumbling out of the ground\".</p><blockquote><p> Humans used to be a diverse group of species, not just one as we are today </p></blockquote><p>In 1972, Leakey's team uncovered the skull and some limb bones of a 1.9 million-year-old <em>Homo rudolfensis</em>, known as \"<a href=\"http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/fossils/knm-er-1470\">skull 1470</a>\".</p><p>The discovery reinforced an idea that was emerging at the time: that there was not a single line of early humans, but multiple lineages. It was already known that three other species were living in Africa around the same time: <em>H. habilis</em>, <em>H. erectus</em> and <em>Paranthropus boisei</em>. <em>H. rudolfensis</em> added to this diversity.</p><p>In other words, <a href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150929-why-are-we-the-only-human-species-still-alive\">humans used to be a diverse group of species</a>, not just one as we are today. <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11322\">Later finds from Koobi Fora suggest</a> that the three <em>Homo</em> species coexisted between 1.78 and 1.98 million years ago.</p><p>But it was not until the discovery of Turkana Boy, also known as Nariokotome Boy, that we began to learn about perhaps the most important of these species: <em>H. erectus</em>.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03b2ldp\"}}</p><p>\"Turkana Boy is one of the monumentally important fossils that radiates new questions about human evolution,\" says paleoanthropologist <a href=\"http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/anthropology/faculty/jshea.html\">John Shea</a> of Stony Brook University in New York, US.</p><p>For one thing, <em>H. erectus</em> are thought to be our direct ancestors. They were the first hominins to migrate out of Africa, spreading into Europe and Asia.</p><blockquote><p> It's a step in the direction of the way we humans walk around </p></blockquote><p>In some ways they were strikingly similar to us. They had significantly bigger brains than the slightly older <em>H. habilis, </em>and were much taller.</p><p>What's more, Turkana Boy revealed that his species walked more like us than older hominins did. He centred his weight over his pelvis as he walked, just like us. He also had arched feet and a relatively long stride.</p><p>Turkana Boy was also able to carry things in his free hands while walking.</p><p>\"It's a step in the direction of the way we humans walk around, away from the way other ancestral hominins and primates moved around,\" says Shea.</p><p>\"He would have been a good endurance runner and very good at carrying things. If you're able to run, you can chase, so what were they chasing? What were they carrying?\"</p><p>Other studies offer some clues.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03b2lxr\"}}</p><p>His family may have been carrying hunting tools like spears. The anatomy of their hands strongly suggests they could do so. Spears do not fossilise, but <a href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23061016\">a 2013 study</a> suggested that <em><a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12267\">H. erectus</a></em><a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12267\"> had evolved the ability to throw</a>.</p><p>In contrast, our closest ape relatives have very little throwing power. Our more ape-like ancestors, who spent more of their time in trees, were probably similarly bad at throwing.</p><p>This suggests that <em>H. erectus</em> could hunt more intensively than older species, helping them to expand out of their territory.</p><p>That would have been useful, because during Turkana Boy's time the climate was extremely variable. The forests his ancestors had thrived in began to change into more open grasslands, leaving early humans fewer places to hide from large predators.</p><p>These hominins faced a choice, says Shea: retreat to the remaining trees, or deal with these threats head-on. They seem to have chosen the latter.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03b2mbb\"}}</p><p>They may have found some safety in numbers. Groups that live, work and hunt together are less vulnerable than lone individuals. This may have given <em>H. erectus</em> the drive they needed to become more social.</p><p>There is some evidence that they shared information and worked in teams.</p><p>Stone tools called Acheulean hand-axes date from this time. They have been found throughout Africa and in other parts of the world. This suggests that early humans could both make them and share the ability with others.</p><blockquote><p> Hand-axes were involved in dismembering and chopping limbs apart and cutting through the flesh </p></blockquote><p><a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature10372\">The earliest known Acheulean hand-axes were discovered</a> near Lake Turkana in 2011. They are 1.76 million years old and were probably made by <em>H. erectus</em>.</p><p>Once the Acheulean technology emerged, it persisted for over a million years, says <a href=\"http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/people/staff/de_la_torre\">Ignacio de la Torre</a> of University College London in the UK. For good reason: the hand-axes were multi-functional tools, the Stone Age equivalent of the Swiss army knife.</p><p>For example, they would have been ideal for butchering animal carcasses. \"It is a reasonable explanation that hand-axes were involved in dismembering and chopping limbs apart and cutting through the flesh,\" says de la Torre.</p><p>Given how long they persisted, it must have been easy to teach others how to make them.</p><p>That does not mean <em>H. erectus</em> had language. <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/2051618515Y.0000000011\">Shea has taught about 500 students</a> to make similar stone tools, and they can easily teach others without talking. Still, they are harder to create than the <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013718\">Oldowan stone flints</a> attributed to the smaller-brained <em>H. habilis</em>.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03b2n5b\"}}</p><p>Lake Turkana has also helped reveal what was happening even earlier in human evolution, before the <em>Homo</em> genus arose.</p><p>In 1974, researchers in Ethiopia discovered <a href=\"http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141127-lucy-fossil-revealed-our-origins\">a 3.2-million-year-old fossil <em>Australopithecus afarensis</em>, nicknamed \"Lucy\"</a>. Lucy's species was immediately hailed as a key contender for our direct ancestor.</p><p>\"When Lucy was found there was very little known earlier. All the specimens were known after the age of Lucy,\" paleoanthropologist <a href=\"http://www.leakey.com/bios/meave-leakey\">Meave Leakey</a> told the Royal Society in October 2015.</p><p>\"The obvious interpretation of that was that there was nothing happening before [Lucy],\" Leakey added. There was a single lineage descending from apes through to Lucy, \"and then out pops our immediate ancestors\". To her, that did not make sense.</p><p>So Meave Leakey made it her mission to find fossils of other species from the same period as Lucy. That meant going back to Lake Turkana.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03b2vr1\"}}</p><p>Her team found fossils on the western shore of lake that demonstrated there was \"diversity at the age of Lucy\".</p><p>In the 1990s, <a href=\"https://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2F376565a0\">her team discovered</a> a possible ancestor of Lucy's species, known as <em>A. anamensis. </em>This was the oldest species known from Lake Turkana, having lived about four million years ago.</p><blockquote><p> There were now several contenders for the common ancestor </p></blockquote><p>A few years later, again on the west of the lake, her team discovered <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/35068500\">another new species called <em>Kenyanthropus</em><em> platyops</em></a>, or \"flat-faced man\". This species lived 3.5 million years ago, when other members of Lucy's species also roamed.</p><p>That meant there were now several contenders for \"the common ancestor\" of <em>Homo</em>, and largely killed off the idea that humans evolved on a single line.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03b2pgx\"}}</p><p>Lake Turkana shows no signs of losing its status as a key source of fossils. A recent find has once again shaken up our ideas about what our ancient ancestors could do.</p><p>In the summer of 2015, <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14464\">researchers announced the discovery</a> of the oldest known stone tools, dating to 3.3 million years ago. It had been assumed that only <em>Homo</em> species could make stone tools, but the tools were older than any known <em>Homo</em> fossils, suggesting that older species like <em>A. afarensis</em> or <em>K. platyops</em> could also make stone tools.</p><p>\"We didn’t think they were intelligent and skilled enough to be able to make the stone tools,\" says de la Torre.</p><p>It was a crucial discovery. There was thought to be a \"substantial link between the emergence of humans (<em>Homo)</em> and the emergence of technology\", says de la Torre, but it now seems this is not necessarily true.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p03b2qhs\"}}</p><p>When you look at all these finds together, it is abundantly clear that Lake Turkana has played a pivotal role in our understanding of human evolution. But that is not to say the area was particularly significant for the early humans themselves.</p><p>Lake Turkana was simply an ideal place for fossils to be preserved, says Spoor. \"That doesn't mean human evolution doesn't happen everywhere else in Africa.\"</p><blockquote><p> What you're seeing is Turkana connects the dots </p></blockquote><p>For instance, many of our ancestors might have lived in rainforests, where the ground is too acidic for fossils to survive. \"Absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence,\" says Spoor.</p><p>But that does not diminish the importance of the site itself.</p><p>\"To some degree, what you're seeing is Turkana connects the dots,\" says Shea. It allows us to see multiple species that lived millions of years apart, and compare them.</p><p>We are lucky that this one area was a geological trap, allowing us a glimpse into the lives of so many of the early humans that preceded us on Earth.</p><p><em>Melissa Hogenboom is BBC Earth's feature writer, she is</em> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/melissasuzanneh\"><em>@melissasuzanneh</em></a> <em>on twitter.</em></p><p><em>Follow BBC Earth on</em> <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth\"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>,</em> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/bbcearth\"><em>Twitter</em></a><em>, and</em> <a href=\"https://instagram.com/bbcearth/\"><em>Instagram</em></a><em>.</em></p>","BusinessUnit":"worldwide","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":[],"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2015-12-07T13:57:23Z","Geolocation":[],"HeadlineLong":"The remote lake that tells the story of humanity's birth","HeadlineShort":"The lake that reveals humanity's birth","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"One lake in Kenya has yielded fossils that revolutionised our understanding of human evolution","IsSyndicated":true,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":[],"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[],"RelatedTag":[],"StoryType":"","SummaryLong":"One lake in Kenya has yielded fossils that revolutionised our understanding of human evolution","SummaryShort":"Four million years of human evolution in one lake","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[]},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2015-12-07T09:43:48.957372Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"65788736-ffa4-47e0-b921-5c5b35abca4b","Id":"wwearth/story/20151207-the-remote-lake-that-tells-the-story-of-humanitys-birth","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-02-22T12:49:54.990767Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20151207-the-remote-lake-that-tells-the-story-of-humanitys-birth"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20151207-the-remote-lake-that-tells-the-story-of-humanitys-birth","_id":"5981d55b0b1947497fcd0d96"},{"Content":{"AssetCustom":"","AssetIbroadcast":null,"AssetImage":[],"AssetImagePromo":null,"AssetInfographic":"","AssetInline":[],"AssetSelect":"","AssetVideoIb2":null,"AssetVideoMps":null,"Author":[],"BodyHtml":"<p>Forty years ago, on a Sunday morning in late November 1974, a team of scientists were digging in an isolated spot in the Afar region of Ethiopia.</p><p>Surveying the area, paleoanthropologist <a href=\"https://webapp4.asu.edu/directory/person/50790\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Johanson</a> spotted a small part of an elbow bone. He immediately recognised it as coming from a human ancestor. And there was plenty more. \"As I looked up the slopes to my left I saw bits of the skull, a chunk of jaw, a couple of vertebrae,\" says Johanson.</p><p>It was immediately obvious that the skeleton was a momentous find, because the sediments at the site were known to be 3.2 million years old. \"I realised this was part of a skeleton that was older than three million years,\" says Johanson. It was the most ancient early human – or hominin – ever found. Later it became apparent that it was also the most complete: fully 40% of the skeleton had been preserved.</p><blockquote><p> Might Lucy be our direct ancestor, a missing gap in the human family tree? </p></blockquote><p>At the group's campsite that night, Johanson played a Beatles cassette that he had brought with him, and the song \"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds\" came on. By this time Johanson thought the skeleton was female, because it was small. So someone said to him: \"why don't you call it Lucy?\" The name stuck immediately. \"All of a sudden,\" says Johanson, \"she became a person.\"</p><p>It would be another four years before Lucy was officially described. She belonged to <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.104384\" target=\"_blank\">a new species called <em>Australopithecus afarensis</em></a>, and it was clear that she was one of the most important fossils ever discovered.</p><p>But at the campsite the morning after the discovery, the discussion was dominated by questions. How old was Lucy when she died? Did she have children? What was she like? And might she be our direct ancestor, a missing gap in the human family tree? Forty years later, we are starting to have answers to some of these questions.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02cws51\"}}</p><p>Though she was a new species, Lucy was not the first <em>Australopithecus</em> found. That was the Taung Child, the fossilised skull of a young child who lived about 2.8 million years ago in Taung, South Africa. The Taung Child was discovered in 1924 and was studied by anatomist Raymond Dart. He realised that it belonged to a new species, which he called <em>Australopithecus africanus</em>.</p><blockquote><p> The Taung Child was denounced as just an ape and of no major importance </p></blockquote><p>Dart wrote: \"<a href=\"http://books.google.com/books?id=p_P1Wm5MnVAC&lpg=PA3&vq=raymond%20dart&pg=PA5#v=snippet&q=raymond%20dart&f=false\" target=\"_blank\">I knew at a glance that what lay in my hands was no ordinary anthropoidal brain. Here in lime-consolidated sand was the replica of a brain three times as large as that of a baboon and considerably bigger than that of an adult chimpanzee…</a>\" The Taung Child's teeth were more like a human child's than an ape's. Dart also concluded that it could walk upright, like humans, because the part of the skull where the spinal cord meets the brain was human-like.</p><p>The Taung Child was the first hint that humans originated from Africa. But when Dart published <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/115195a0\" target=\"_blank\">his analysis</a> the following year, he came in for stiff criticism. At the time, Europe and Asia was thought to be the crucial hub for human evolution, and scientists did not accept that Africa was an important site. The Taung Child was denounced by the prominent anatomist Sir Arthur Keith as just an ape and of no major importance.</p><p>Over the next 25 years, more evidence emerged and showed that Dart had been right all along. By the time Lucy came along, anthropologists accepted that australopithecines were early humans, not just apes. So upon her discovery, Lucy became the oldest potential ancestor for every known hominin species. The immediate question was: what was she like?</p><p>{\"video\":{ \"pid\": \"p02cx25x\",\"encoding\": \"ib2\" }}</p><p>Lucy had an \"incredible amalgam of more primitive and more derived features that had not been seen before,\" says Johanson. Her skull, jaws and teeth were more ape-like than those of other Australopithecus. Her braincase was also very small, no bigger than that of a chimp. She had a hefty jaw, a low forehead and <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/297676a0\" target=\"_blank\">long dangly arms</a>.</p><blockquote><p> There's no other mammal that walks the way we do </p></blockquote><p>For Johanson, in the field at Hadar, it was immediately apparent that Lucy walked upright, like the Taung Child. That's because the shape and positioning of her pelvis reflected a fully upright gait. Lucy's knee and ankle were also preserved and seem to reflect bipedal walking. Later studies of <em>A. afarensis</em> feet offer <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1201463\" target=\"_blank\">even more evidence</a>.</p><p>As an upright walker, Lucy strengthened the idea that walking was one of the key selective pressures driving human evolution forwards. The first hominins did not need bigger brains to take defining steps away from apes. Extra brainpower only came over a million years later with the arrival of <em>Homo erectus</em>. Though big brains would clearly be important later, walking remains one of the traits that makes us uniquely human.</p><p>\"There's no other mammal that walks the way we do,\" says <a href=\"http://www.amnh.org/our-research/staff-directory/dr.-william-harcourt-smith\" target=\"_blank\">William Harcourt-Smith</a> of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. \"Without bipedalism one starts to wonder what would have happened to our lineage. Would we have happened at all?\"</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02cws67\"}}</p><p>She may have walked like a human, but Lucy spent at least some of her time up in the trees, as chimpanzees and orang-utans still do today. It may be that upright walking evolved in the trees, <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1140799\" target=\"_blank\">as a way to walk along branches that would otherwise be too flexible</a>.</p><p>It's not clear why Lucy left the safety of the trees and took to the ground. It is thought that savannahs were gradually opening up, so trees were spaced further apart. But the real reason for heading to the ground may have been to search for food, says <a href=\"http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/about-science/staff-directory/earth-sciences/c-stringer/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Stringer</a> of the Natural History Museum in London, UK. In line with this idea, recent evidence suggests that <a href=\"http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-22752937\" target=\"_blank\">australopithecines' diet was changing</a>.</p><blockquote><p> Lucy herself may have been collecting eggs from a lake </p></blockquote><p>Studies of the remains of food trapped on preserved hominin teeth show that several species, including Lucy's, were <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1222559110\" target=\"_blank\">expanding their diet around 3.5 million years ago</a>. Instead of mostly eating fruit from trees, they began to include grasses and sedges, and possibly meat. This change in diet may have allowed them to range more widely, and to travel around more efficiently in a changing environment.</p><p>Lucy herself may have been collecting eggs from a lake. Fossilised crocodile and turtle eggs were found near her skeleton, leading to suggestions that she died while foraging for them.</p><p><strong>An ape with butchering skills<br /></strong></p><p>How did australopithecines process all these new foods? Later species like Homo erectus are known to have used simple stone tools, but no tools have ever been found from this far back. However, in 2010 archaeologists uncovered <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature09248\" target=\"_blank\">animal bones with markings that seem to have been made by stone tools</a>. That suggests Lucy and her relatives used stone tools to eat meat.</p><blockquote><p> Chimpanzees learn about tool use from their mothers </p></blockquote><p>There have since been heated debates over <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1013711107\" target=\"_blank\">whether or not the marks were really made by tools</a>. But if they were, it is not really surprising, says <a href=\"http://www.eva.mpg.de/evolution/staff/spoor/\" target=\"_blank\">Fred Spoor</a> of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.</p><p>Spoor points out that modern chimpanzees use several tools, for instance to crack nuts. So if chimps can do it, Spoor says we might expect that <em>A. afarensis</em> – which was basically a \"bipedal chimpanzee\" – could too. Chimpanzees learn about tool use from their mothers, and Lucy could have picked it up in a similar way.</p><p>It would be more impressive if Lucy's species had also manufactured tools, but there is no evidence of that. \"Cut marks don't imply a stone has been beautifully modelled into a knife,\" says Spoor. \"It could be a sharp stone that has scraped muscle and fat from a bone.\"</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02cwsj3\"}}</p><p>As well as learning skills from her mother, Lucy may well have learned from other <em>A. afarensis</em>. Later fossil finds from the Hadar area, and comparisons with other primates, suggest that Lucy lived in a small social group. Chimpanzees also live in groups of a few dozen individuals, and <em>A. afarensis</em> may have stuck with this system.</p><blockquote><p> Lucy's childhood was much shorter than ours </p></blockquote><p>Lucy was small compared to males of her species. That has led some researchers to suggest that her society was male-dominated. It may even have been polygamous, like gorilla groups today. In general, males are only significantly larger than females in species where one male can control several females. So Lucy may have lived in a group controlled by one dominant male, who had \"a harem, or group of females around it,\" says Spoor.</p><p>It also seems that Lucy's childhood was much shorter than ours, and that she had to fend for herself from a young age.</p><p>We know that Lucy was a fully-grown adult, because she had wisdom teeth and her bones had fused. But unlike modern humans, she seems to have grown to full size very quickly, and was only about 12 years old when she died. In line with that, a 2006 study of a 3-year-old <em>A. afarensis</em> suggested that <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature05047\" target=\"_blank\">their brains reached their full size much earlier than ours do</a>.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02cwtld\"}}</p><p>All in all, Lucy looks like a halfway house between apes and humans. She was ape-like in appearance and brain size, but she could walk upright like more advanced hominins that lived later. So where exactly does she fit into our family tree?</p><blockquote><p> There were many species of early hominin, often living side by side </p></blockquote><p>When she was discovered, Lucy was hailed as the oldest direct ancestor of modern humans. \"<em>A. afarensis</em> took us one small step closer to that common ancestor we share with chimpanzees,\" says <a href=\"https://ib.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/whitet\" target=\"_blank\">Tim White</a> of the University of California, Berkeley. \"We knew we were genetically incredibly close to chimpanzees, with the last common ancestor we shared with them estimated to be around six million years ago. Lucy had closed a gap in our knowledge.\"</p><p>It now looks like Lucy did not take us as close to our common ancestor with chimps as everyone thought. The latest genetic studies suggest we actually split from chimpanzees much earlier, <a href=\"http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21628921.500-our-true-dawn-pinning-down-human-origins.html\" target=\"_blank\">perhaps as much as 13 million years ago</a>. If that is true, the 3-million-year-old Lucy arrived quite late in the story of human evolution. Older fossils, such as <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1175802\" target=\"_blank\">the 4.4-million-year-old <em>Ardipithecus</em></a> described by White and his colleagues, are closer to our ape ancestors.</p><p>But a bigger problem for the idea that <em>A. afarensis</em> were our direct ancestors is that our lineage has turned out to be very complicated. There were many species of early hominin, often living side by side and possibly even interbreeding. When Lucy was found, about seven early hominins were known. Now there are at least 20. We simply don't know which ones eventually led to Homo sapiens, and which were evolutionary dead ends.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02cwtn8\"}}</p><p>It is not even clear where in Africa modern humans evolved. Lucy suggested that Ethiopia was a crucial site. But in 2008 <a href=\"http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1184944\" target=\"_blank\">another species of <em>Australopithecus</em></a>, <em>A. sediba</em>, was discovered in South Africa. It lived around 2 million years ago, around when the <em>Homo</em> genus first emerged. The Taung Child also hailed from the same area, so the find suggested that South Africa could have been our species' birthplace.</p><blockquote><p> We may never find our true ancestor </p></blockquote><p>Despite this, White says Lucy's species is still the best candidate for a direct ancestor, but that more fossil evidence from that time is needed. \"I am confident that the fossils will be found in that interval, because I know that in Ethiopia there are already four study areas with fossiliferous sediments of that age,\" he says.</p><p>Other species like <em>Kenyanthropus platyops</em>, which lived 3.5 million years ago, could also be the ancestor, says Stringer. It could also be a fossil that we haven't found yet.</p><p>Spoor is even more cautious and says we may never find our true ancestor, because we will only ever find a fraction of life that once existed. But Lucy certainly comes \"pretty close\", he says.</p><p>{\"image\":{\"pid\":\"p02cwtvq\"}}</p><p>Lucy's discovery marked a turning point in our understanding of human evolution. Even today scientists are still learning from her. Paleoanthropologists can visit her in Ethiopia's National Museum in Addis Ababa, to run further analyses using new technologies. \"She'll keep on giving,\" says Harcourt-Smith.</p><blockquote><p> Her place in human evolution is assured </p></blockquote><p>According to Johanson, perhaps her most important contribution was to \"spark\" a wave of research that has led to the discovery of many new species, like <em>Ardipithecus</em> and <em>A. sediba</em>. The number of known species has more than doubled since Lucy, but many parts of the story still need to be filled in, says Johanson. \"I know there are several others [species] lurking on the horizon.\"</p><p>Thanks to all these discoveries, we now know that the evolutionary process that led to us was not linear. There was a lot of variation and experimentation along the way, with many species being driven to extinction – most famously the Neanderthals. Johanson says modern humans, for all our abilities, may have been fortunate to have survived it all.</p><p>Members of his team will soon be digging for fossils in the Afar region of Ethiopia, close to Lucy's home, as they do each year. It seems likely that this area has more fossils to offer. Even if it doesn't, many fossils that are more complete than Lucy, and much older, have been found since 1974. Nevertheless, Stringer says that \"her place in human evolution is assured for the long term.\"</p><p><em>Donald Johanson spoke to Radio 4's <strong>BBC Inside Science</strong>. <a href=\"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04pvdhm\" target=\"_blank\">Listen to the full interview</a>.</em></p>","BusinessUnit":"bbc.com","CalloutBody":"","CalloutPosition":"","CalloutSubtitle":"","CalloutTitle":"","Campaign":null,"Collection":[],"DisableAdverts":false,"DisplayDate":"2014-11-27T12:12:43Z","Geolocation":null,"HeadlineLong":"The 'Lucy' fossil rewrote the story of humanity","HeadlineShort":"The skeleton that rewrote history","HideRelated":false,"Horizontal":null,"Intro":"Forty years ago in east Africa, a team of scientists found a fossil that changed our understanding of human evolution","IsSyndicated":true,"Latitude":"","Location":null,"Longitude":"","Option":null,"Partner":null,"PrimaryVertical":"wwearth","Programme":null,"RelatedStory":[],"RelatedTag":[],"StoryType":"image","SummaryLong":"Forty years ago in east Africa, a team of scientists found a fossil that changed our understanding of human evolution","SummaryShort":"How Lucy revealed our species' origins","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[]},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2014-11-27T12:12:43Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"09a17992-7251-4c4e-9cfa-7f761c94a717","Id":"wwearth/story/20141127-lucy-fossil-revealed-our-origins","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:03:49.134289Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20141127-lucy-fossil-revealed-our-origins"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20141127-lucy-fossil-revealed-our-origins","_id":"5983a1f40b1947497fce51e6"}],"RelatedTag":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"","LinkUrl":"","Name":"Human"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2014-09-02T14:09:38Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"fe1c32d6-016f-46d6-9e01-7b57e749cd66","Id":"tag/human","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:18:47.303257Z","Project":"","Slug":"human"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:tag:tag/human","_id":"5981d5c70b1947497fcd4adc"}],"StoryType":"image","SummaryLong":"Compared to other apes and indeed all other mammals, humans are practically bald, and this may have allowed our species to thrive","SummaryShort":"Compared to apes, humans are practically bald","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"","LinkUrl":"","Name":"Ancient humans","CreationDateTime":"2014-09-07T14:29:18Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"a0120054-7b4d-447c-8e46-cf9b21271c16","Id":"tag/ancient-humans","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:13:54.622595Z","Project":"","Slug":"ancient-humans"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2014-09-07T14:29:18Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"a0120054-7b4d-447c-8e46-cf9b21271c16","Id":"tag/ancient-humans","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:13:54.622595Z","Project":"","Slug":"ancient-humans"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:tag:tag/ancient-humans","_id":"5981d5c90b1947497fcd4c81"}],"CreationDateTime":"2016-08-02T06:00:34.1328Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"745df77e-cd96-4788-9c9c-f101ad13c940","Id":"wwearth/story/20160801-our-weird-lack-of-hair-may-be-the-key-to-our-success","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-08-08T16:36:51.75593Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20160801-our-weird-lack-of-hair-may-be-the-key-to-our-success"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-08-02T06:00:34.1328Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"745df77e-cd96-4788-9c9c-f101ad13c940","Id":"wwearth/story/20160801-our-weird-lack-of-hair-may-be-the-key-to-our-success","ModifiedDateTime":"2016-08-08T16:36:51.75593Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20160801-our-weird-lack-of-hair-may-be-the-key-to-our-success"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20160801-our-weird-lack-of-hair-may-be-the-key-to-our-success","_id":"598209140b1947497fcd798e"}],"RelatedTag":null,"StoryType":"image","SummaryLong":"All over the world otter populations have been hanging in the balance, but two very different approaches have been successful in saving the species","SummaryShort":"From California to Cambodia, otters are bouncing back","SuperSection":null,"Tag":[{"Content":{"AssetImage":null,"Description":"","LinkUrl":"","Name":"Conservation","CreationDateTime":"2014-11-20T12:13:51Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"54889432-e084-4118-8d59-38e49a99eb04","Id":"tag/conservation","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:08:42.774516Z","Project":"","Slug":"conservation"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2014-11-20T12:13:51Z","Entity":"tag","Guid":"54889432-e084-4118-8d59-38e49a99eb04","Id":"tag/conservation","ModifiedDateTime":"2015-09-03T09:08:42.774516Z","Project":"","Slug":"conservation"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:tag:tag/conservation","_id":"5981d5c80b1947497fcd4bae"}],"CreationDateTime":"2017-06-20T08:58:57.100223Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"f2bf639a-a329-4740-852e-8991e68dd28a","Id":"wwearth/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink","ModifiedDateTime":"2017-06-21T08:29:32.132808Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2017-06-20T08:58:57.100223Z","Entity":"story","Guid":"f2bf639a-a329-4740-852e-8991e68dd28a","Id":"wwearth/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink","ModifiedDateTime":"2017-06-21T08:29:32.132808Z","Project":"wwearth","Slug":"20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink"},"Urn":"urn:pubstack:jative:story:wwearth/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink","_id":"5981d5660b1947497fcd13f9"}}, _routes={"column-index":{"route":"/earth/columns/:page:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/collection/column","rules":{"page":"isNumeric"}},"column-results":{"route":"/earth/columns/{id}/:page:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/column/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId","page":"isNumeric"}},"story":{"route":"/earth/story/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"story-preview":{"route":"/earth/preview/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"tag-index":{"route":"/earth/tags/:page:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/tag-index","rules":{"page":"isNumeric"}},"tag":{"route":"/earth/tags/{id}/:page:","entity-mapping":"tag/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId","page":"isNumeric"}},"native-story":{"route":"/earth/sponsored/story/{id}","entity-mapping":"wwearth/native-story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"native-story-preview":{"route":"/earth/preview/sponsored/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/native-story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"native-column":{"route":"/earth/sponsored/{id}/:page:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/native-column/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId","page":"isNumeric"}},"search":{"route":"/earth/search/:keywords:/:page:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/search/{keywords}","rules":{"page":"isNumeric"}},"slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/earth/gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"slideshow-gallery-alt":{"route":"/earth/slideshow-gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"future-now":{"route":"/earth/now","entity-mapping":"wwearth/supersection/future-now","cross-domain":true},"untold-world":{"route":"/earth/untold-world","entity-mapping":"wwearth/supersection/untold-world","cross-domain":true},"article-third-party-content":{"route":"/earth/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/thirdpartycontent/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"article-story":{"route":"/earth/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"article-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/earth/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"section-index":{"route":"/earth/sections/:page:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/collection/section","rules":{"page":"isNumeric"}},"section-results":{"route":"/earth/sections/{id}/:page:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/section/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId","page":"isNumeric"}},"front-page":{"route":"/earth/world/:page:","entity-mapping":"wwearth/front-page","rules":{"page":"isNumeric"}},"front-page-redirect":{"route":"/earth/","entity-mapping":"wwearth/front-page","rules":{}},"sol-player":{"route":"/earth/storyoflife/player:?query:","entity-mapping":"storyoflife/player","rules":{"?query":"isValidSOLQuery"}},"sol-catch-page":{"route":"/earth/storyoflife:/::?query:","entity-mapping":"storyoflife/app","rules":{"?query":"isValidSOLQuery"}},"wwfuture-story":{"route":"/future/story/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwculture-story":{"route":"/culture/story/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwculture/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-story":{"route":"/travel/story/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwautos-story":{"route":"/autos/story/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwautos/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-story":{"route":"/capital/story/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwfuture-story-preview":{"route":"/future/preview/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"wwculture-story-preview":{"route":"/culture/preview/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwculture/story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-story-preview":{"route":"/travel/preview/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"wwautos-story-preview":{"route":"/autos/preview/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwautos/story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-story-preview":{"route":"/capital/preview/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"wwfuture-native-story":{"route":"/future/sponsored/story/{id}","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/native-story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwculture-native-story":{"route":"/culture/sponsored/story/{id}","entity-mapping":"wwculture/native-story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-native-story":{"route":"/travel/sponsored/story/{id}","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/native-story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwautos-native-story":{"route":"/autos/sponsored/story/{id}","entity-mapping":"wwautos/native-story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-native-story":{"route":"/capital/sponsored/story/{id}","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/native-story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwfuture-native-story-preview":{"route":"/future/preview/sponsored/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/native-story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"wwculture-native-story-preview":{"route":"/culture/preview/sponsored/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwculture/native-story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-native-story-preview":{"route":"/travel/preview/sponsored/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/native-story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"wwautos-native-story-preview":{"route":"/autos/preview/sponsored/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwautos/native-story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-native-story-preview":{"route":"/capital/preview/sponsored/story/{guid}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/native-story-preview/{guid}","cross-domain":true},"wwfuture-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/future/gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwculture-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/culture/gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwculture/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/travel/gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwautos-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/autos/gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwautos/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/capital/gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwfuture-slideshow-gallery-alt":{"route":"/future/slideshow-gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwculture-slideshow-gallery-alt":{"route":"/culture/slideshow-gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwculture/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-slideshow-gallery-alt":{"route":"/travel/slideshow-gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwautos-slideshow-gallery-alt":{"route":"/autos/slideshow-gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwautos/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-slideshow-gallery-alt":{"route":"/capital/slideshow-gallery/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwfuture-future-now":{"route":"/future/now","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/supersection/future-now","cross-domain":true},"wwculture-future-now":{"route":"/culture/now","entity-mapping":"wwculture/supersection/future-now","cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-future-now":{"route":"/travel/now","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/supersection/future-now","cross-domain":true},"wwautos-future-now":{"route":"/autos/now","entity-mapping":"wwautos/supersection/future-now","cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-future-now":{"route":"/capital/now","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/supersection/future-now","cross-domain":true},"wwfuture-untold-world":{"route":"/future/untold-world","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/supersection/untold-world","cross-domain":true},"wwculture-untold-world":{"route":"/culture/untold-world","entity-mapping":"wwculture/supersection/untold-world","cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-untold-world":{"route":"/travel/untold-world","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/supersection/untold-world","cross-domain":true},"wwautos-untold-world":{"route":"/autos/untold-world","entity-mapping":"wwautos/supersection/untold-world","cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-untold-world":{"route":"/capital/untold-world","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/supersection/untold-world","cross-domain":true},"wwfuture-article-third-party-content":{"route":"/future/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/thirdpartycontent/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwculture-article-third-party-content":{"route":"/culture/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwculture/thirdpartycontent/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-article-third-party-content":{"route":"/travel/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/thirdpartycontent/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwautos-article-third-party-content":{"route":"/autos/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwautos/thirdpartycontent/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-article-third-party-content":{"route":"/capital/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/thirdpartycontent/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwfuture-article-story":{"route":"/future/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwculture-article-story":{"route":"/culture/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwculture/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-article-story":{"route":"/travel/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwautos-article-story":{"route":"/autos/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwautos/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-article-story":{"route":"/capital/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/story/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwfuture-article-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/future/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwfuture/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwculture-article-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/culture/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwculture/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwtravel-article-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/travel/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwtravel/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwautos-article-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/autos/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwautos/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true},"wwcapital-article-slideshow-gallery":{"route":"/capital/article/{id}:?query:","entity-mapping":"wwcapital/slideshow-gallery/{id}","rules":{"id":"isValidId"},"cross-domain":true}}, _comscoreKeyValues=false, isMobileDevice=function(){ var user_agent = navigator.userAgent, mobile=/Mobile|iP(hone|od|ad)|Android|BlackBerry|IEMobile|Kindle|NetFront|Silk-Accelerated|(hpw|web)OS|Fennec|Minimo|Opera M(obi|ini)|Blazer|Dolfin|Dolphin|Skyfire|Zune/; return mobile.test(user_agent); }, loadCss = function (url) { var link = document.createElement("link"); link.type = "text/css"; link.rel = "stylesheet"; link.href = url; document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(link); }, hasTheMustard = function (){ if(('querySelector' in document && 'localStorage' in window && 'addEventListener' in window)) { return true; } return false; }, isWebKit =function(){ if(RegExp(" AppleWebKit/").test(navigator.userAgent)){ return true; } return false; }, hasFixedWidthLayout= function (){ return isIE8; }, removeNoJsClass = function(){ var bodyTag = document.getElementsByTagName('body'); var container; if (bodyTag.length > 0) { bodyTag[0].className = bodyTag[0].className.replace(new RegExp('no-js', 'g'), ''); } if(container=document.getElementById('wwfeatures-container')){ container.className =""; } }, requireConfig; requireConfig={ baseUrl: 'https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/static/80639ec75e40/scripts/requirejs/', paths:{ 'mapboxgl-supported': '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://api.mapbox.com/mapbox-gl-js/plugins/mapbox-gl-supported/v1.2.0/mapbox-gl-supported', mapboxgl: '../../components/mapboxgl/mapbox-gl', mapboxjs: '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://api.mapbox.com/mapbox.js/v3.0.1/mapbox', 'requestLoader':'service/client-request-loader', 'templates':'wwearth/templates' }, shim: { mapboxjs: { exports: 'L' } } }; _comscoreKeyValues = {"c2":"19774467","ns_site":"bbc","name":"bbc_-_earth_-_conservation_success_for_otters_on_the_brink","b_vs_un":"bc","c7":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink","b_c7":"https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink","c8":"bbc_-_earth_-_conservation_success_for_otters_on_the_brink","b_app_type":"web","b_app_name":"earth|rc43","b_code_ver":"rc43","b_imp_ver":"rc43","b_imp_src":"wwf","b_site_channel":"earth","b_edition":"international","b_page_type":"sty|img","b_article_title":"conservation success for otters on the brink","b_article_id":"wwearth/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink","b_article_author":"jeremy coles","b_article_theme":"conservation","b_article_date":"1497949137100","b_article_update":"1497949137100","b_article_length":"6333"}; require(requireConfig); </script>  <script> window.onload = removeNoJsClass; var availableStyles = [ 'responsive-core', 'sol-core', 'video-playlist-player', 'cultural-calender', 'weather', 'slideshow-gallery', 'tpc', 'super-section', 'maps' ]; if(hasTheMustard()){ for(var ctr=0;ctr<availableStyles.length;ctr++){ loadCss('https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/static/80639ec75e40/css/wwearth/'+availableStyles[ctr]+'.css'); } } </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var Logger={ debug: function () { }, info: function () { }, warn: function () { }, error: function () { } } require(['util/logger'],function(logger){ logger.useDefaults(); if((typeof digitalData !=="undefined")&& (digitalData.environment=="sandbox")){ logger.setLevel(logger.DEBUG); } else { logger.setLevel(logger.INFO); } window.Logger=logger; }); if (Function.prototype.bind && window.console && typeof console.log == "object"){ [ "log","info","warn","error","assert","dir","clear","profile","profileEnd" ].forEach(function (method) { console[method] = this.bind(console[method], console); }, Function.prototype.call); } </script><script type="text/javascript"> if ((typeof bbcdotcom != "undefined") && (typeof bbcdotcom.setConfig != 'undefined')){ bbcdotcom.setConfig({ siteCatalystEnabled: false, comScoreEnabled: false }); } window.advertising={"adsDisabled":false,"keywords":{"pageType":"story","STORY":"1","asset_type":"story","media":"image","tags":"conservation","destination":""},"adUnit":"bbcearth.com/earth_tags_conservation_content","adSlots":{"parallax":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"parallax","async":true},"leaderboard":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"leaderboard","async":true},"leaderboard-1_2_3":{"id":"leaderboard","groups":"1_2_3","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3]","async":true},"leaderboard-4":{"id":"leaderboard","groups":"4","jsonGroups":"[4]","async":true},"mpu-1_2_3":{"id":"mpu","groups":"1_2_3","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3]","async":true},"mpu-4":{"id":"mpu","groups":"4","jsonGroups":"[4]","async":true},"mpu-1_2":{"id":"mpu","groups":"1_2","jsonGroups":"[1,2]","async":true},"mpu-3_4":{"id":"mpu","groups":"3_4","jsonGroups":"[3,4]","async":true},"mpu_bottom":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"mpu_bottom","async":true},"native_side":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"native_side","async":true},"native_responsive":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"native_responsive","async":true},"ad_feature_rc":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"ad_feature_rc","async":true},"promo_feature_responsive":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"promo_feature_responsive","async":true},"promo_feature_1":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"promo_feature_1","async":true},"promo_feature_2":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"promo_feature_2","async":true},"promo_feature_3":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"promo_feature_3","async":true},"responsive_box_1":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"responsive_box_1","async":true},"responsive_box_2":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"responsive_box_2","async":true,"deferred":true},"verticalnavbar":{"groups":"1_2_3_4","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3,4]","id":"verticalnavbar","async":true},"sponsor-section-content":{"id":"sponsor_section","groups":"1_2_3","text":"IN ASSOCIATION WITH","jsonGroups":"[1,2,3]","async":true},"sponsor-section-hero":{"id":"sponsor_section","groups":"4","text":"IN ASSOCIATION WITH","jsonGroups":"[4]","async":true}},"async":true,"adsToDisplay":["parallax","leaderboard","mpu","mpu_bottom","native_side","native_responsive","ad_feature_rc","promo_feature_responsive","promo_feature_1","promo_feature_2","promo_feature_3","responsive_box_1","verticalnavbar","sponsor_section"]}; try{ if((typeof window.bbcdotcom != 'undefined') && (typeof bbcdotcom.setAdUnit != 'undefined') && (typeof bbcdotcom.init != 'undefined') && (typeof bbcdotcom.setAdKeyValue != 'undefined')){ for(var keyword in window.advertising.keywords) { bbcdotcom.setAdKeyValue(keyword,window.advertising.keywords[keyword]); } bbcdotcom.setAdUnit(window.advertising.adUnit); bbcdotcom.init({ asyncEnabled: true, "adsToDisplay":window.advertising.adsToDisplay }); } } catch (err) { Logger.error(err); } </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime(); </script>  </head> <body class="no-js"> <div id="bbccom_interstitial_ad" class="bbccom_display_none"></div><div id="bbccom_interstitial" class="bbccom_display_none"><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function() { if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.config.isActive('ads')) { googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('bbccom_interstitial'); }); } }()); /*]]>*/ </script></div><div id="bbccom_wallpaper_ad" class="bbccom_display_none"></div><div id="bbccom_wallpaper" class="bbccom_display_none"><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function() { var wallpaper; if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.config.isActive('ads')) { if (bbcdotcom.config.isAsync()) { googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('bbccom_wallpaper'); }); } else { googletag.display("wallpaper"); } wallpaper = bbcdotcom.adverts.adRegister.getAd('wallpaper'); } }()); /*]]>*/ </script></div><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function() { if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.config.isActive('ads')) { document.write(unescape('%3Cscript id="gnlAdsEnabled" class="bbccom_display_none"%3E%3C/script%3E')); } if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.config.isActive('analytics')) { document.write(unescape('%3Cscript id="gnlAnalyticsEnabled" class="bbccom_display_none"%3E%3C/script%3E')); } }()); /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function() { window.bbcdotcom.bodyFirst = true; }()); /*]]>*/ </script> <div id="blq-global"> <div id="blq-pre-mast"> </div> </div> <script type="text/html" id="blq-bbccookies-tmpl"><![CDATA[ <section> <div id="bbccookies" class="bbccookies-banner orb-banner-wrapper bbccookies-d"> <div id="bbccookies-prompt" class="orb-banner b-g-p b-r b-f"> <h2 class="orb-banner-title"> Cookies on the BBC website </h2> <p class="orb-banner-content" dir="ltr"> The BBC has updated its cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. This includes cookies from third party social media websites if you visit a page which contains embedded content from social media. Such third party cookies may track your use of the BBC website.<span class="bbccookies-international-message"> We and our partners also use cookies to ensure we show you advertising that is relevant to you.</span> If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the BBC website. However, you can change your cookie settings at any time. </p> <ul class="orb-banner-options"> <li id="bbccookies-continue"> <button type="button" id="bbccookies-continue-button">Continue</button> </li> <li id="bbccookies-settings"> <a href="/privacy/cookies/managing/cookie-settings.html">Change settings</a> </li> <li id="bbccookies-more"><a href="/privacy/cookies/bbc">Find out more</a></li></ul> </div> </div> </section> ]]></script> <script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/ (function(){if(bbccookies._showPrompt()){var g=document,b=g.getElementById("blq-pre-mast"),e=g.getElementById("blq-bbccookies-tmpl"),a,f;if(b&&g.createElement){a=g.createElement("div");f=e.innerHTML;f=f.replace("<"+"![CDATA[","").replace("]]"+">","");a.innerHTML=f;b.appendChild(a);blqCookieContinueButton=g.getElementById("bbccookies-continue-button");blqCookieContinueButton.onclick=function(){a.parentNode.removeChild(a);return false};bbccookies._setPolicy(bbccookies.readPolicy())}var c=g.getElementById("bbccookies");if(c&&!window.orb.fig("uk")){c.className=c.className.replace(/\bbbccookies-d\b/,"");c.className=c.className+(" bbccookies-w")}}})(); /*]]>*/</script> <noscript><p style="position: absolute; top: -999em"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250im_/https://sa.bbc.co.uk/bbc/bbc/s?name=earth.story.20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink.page&ml_name=webmodule&ml_version=72&blq_js_enabled=0&blq_s=4d&blq_r=2.7&blq_v=default&blq_e=pal&pal_route=webserviceapi&app_type=responsive&language=en-GB&pal_webapp=barlesque&prod_name=frameworks&app_name=frameworks" height="1" width="1" alt=""></p></noscript>  <script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/ if (typeof bbccookies !== 'undefined' && bbccookies.isAllowed('s1')) { (function () { require(['istats-1'], function (istats) { istatsTrackingUrl = istats.getDefaultURL(); if (istats.isEnabled() && bbcFlagpoles_istats === 'ON') { sitestat(istatsTrackingUrl); } else { window.ns_pixelUrl = istatsTrackingUrl; /* used by Flash library to track */ } function sitestat(n) { var j = document, f = j.location, b = ""; if (j.cookie.indexOf("st_ux=") != -1) { var k = j.cookie.split(";"); var e = "st_ux", h = document.domain, a = "/"; if (typeof ns_ != "undefined" && typeof ns_.ux != "undefined") { e = ns_.ux.cName || e; h = ns_.ux.cDomain || h; a = ns_.ux.cPath || a } for (var g = 0, f = k.length; g < f; g++) { var m = k[g].indexOf("st_ux="); if (m != -1) { b = "&" + decodeURI(k[g].substring(m + 6)) } } bbccookies.set(e + "=; expires=" + new Date(new Date().getTime() - 60).toGMTString() + "; path=" + a + "; domain=" + h); } window.ns_pixelUrl = n; } }); })(); } else { window.istats = {enabled: false}; } /*]]>*/</script>   <header id="orb-banner" role="banner">   <div id="orb-header" class="orb-nav-pri orb-nav-pri-white b-header--white--black orb-nav-empty"> <div class="orb-nav-pri-container b-r b-g-p"> <div class="orb-nav-section orb-nav-blocks"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250im_/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.21.24/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png" width="84" height="24" alt="BBC"/> </a> </div> <section> <div class="orb-skip-links"> <h2>Accessibility links</h2> <ul> <li><a id="orb-accessibility-help" href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/accessibility/">Accessibility Help</a></li> </ul> </div> </section> <div id="mybbc-wrapper" class="orb-nav-section orb-nav-id orb-nav-focus"> <div id="idcta-statusbar" class="orb-nav-section orb-nav-focus"> <a id="idcta-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://account.bbc.com/account"> <span id="idcta-username">BBC iD</span> </a> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> require(['idcta/statusbar'], function(statusbar) { new statusbar.Statusbar({"id":"idcta-statusbar","publiclyCacheable":true}); }); </script> <a id="notification-link" class="js-notification-link animated three" href="#"> <span class="hidden-span">Notifications</span> <div class="notification-link--triangle"></div> <div class="notification-link--triangle"></div> <span id="not-num"></span> </a> </div> <nav role="navigation" class="orb-nav"> <div class="orb-nav-section orb-nav-links orb-nav-focus" id="orb-nav-links"> <h2>BBC navigation</h2> <ul> <li class="orb-nav-home orb-d"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.co.uk/">Home</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-homedotcom orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/">Home</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-news orb-d"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news">News</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-newsdotcom orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/news">News</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-sport"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/sport/">Sport</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-weather"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/weather/">Weather</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-shop orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://shop.bbc.com/">Shop</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-earthdotcom orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/">Earth</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-travel-dotcom orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/travel/">Travel</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-capital orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/capital/">Capital</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-iplayer orb-d"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/iplayer/">iPlayer</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-culture orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/culture/">Culture</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-autos orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/autos/">Autos</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-future orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/future/">Future</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-tv"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/tv/">TV</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-radio"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/radio/">Radio</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-cbbc"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/cbbc">CBBC</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-cbeebies"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/cbeebies">CBeebies</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-food"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/food/">Food</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/iwonder">iWonder</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/education">Bitesize</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-travel orb-d"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/travel/">Travel</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-music"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/music/">Music</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-earth orb-d"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/">Earth</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-arts"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/arts/">Arts</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-makeitdigital"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/makeitdigital">Make It Digital</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/taster">Taster</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-nature orb-w"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/nature/">Nature</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-local"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/local/">Local</a> </li> <li id="orb-nav-more"><a href="#orb-footer" data-alt="More">Menu<span class="orb-icon orb-icon-arrow"></span></a></li> </ul> </div> </nav> <div class="orb-nav-section orb-nav-search"> <a class="orb-search__button" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://search.bbc.co.uk/search" title="Search the BBC">Search</a> <form class="b-f" id="orb-search-form" role="search" method="get" action="//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://search.bbc.co.uk/search" accept-charset="utf-8"> <div> <label for="orb-search-q">Search the BBC</label> <input id="orb-search-q" type="text" autocomplete="off" autocorrect="off" autocapitalize="off" spellcheck="false" name="q" placeholder="Search"> <button id="orb-search-button" class="orb-search__button">Search the BBC</button> <input type="hidden" name="suggid" id="orb-search-suggid"/> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div id="orb-panels"> <script type="text/template" id="orb-panel-template"><![CDATA[ <div id="orb-panel-<%= panelname %>" class="orb-panel" aria-labelledby="orb-nav-<%= panelname %>"> <div class="orb-panel-content b-g-p b-r"> <%= panelcontent %> </div> </div> ]]></script> </div> </div> </header>  <div id="orb-modules"> <div id="content-wrapper"> <div id="wwfeatures-container">  <div id="story-page-container" class="article-page-container"> <div id="version" class=""> <div id="bbccom_leaderboard_1_2_3_4" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('leaderboard', [1,2,3,4]); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div>  <div id="nav-branding-wrapper"> <div id="nav-branding">  <div id="branding"> <div id="branding-top"> <div class="branding-left"></div> <div class="branding-right"></div> </div> </div> <div class="site-brand"> <div class="site-brand-lining"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth" id="brand">Earth</a> <a id="sections-nav-button" href="#nav-bottom" role=".navigation" aria-label="secondary"> <span class="icon-sections"></span><span class="title-sections">Menu</span> </a> </div> </div>  <div id="nav-top"> <div class="navigation-wrapper " data-cs-module="navigation"> <ul class="navigation-list" role="navigation" aria-label=""> <li class=" first"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/world" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-0" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Home"> <div class="line1">Home </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/columns/attenboroughs-story-of-life" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-1" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Attenborough's Story of Life"> <div class="line1">Attenborough's Story of Life </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/columns/the-big-questions" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-2" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Big Questions"> <div class="line1">Big Questions </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/columns/discoveries " class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-3" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Discoveries"> <div class="line1">Discoveries </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/columns/video" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-4" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Video"> <div class="line1">Video </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://pages.s6.exacttarget.com/page.aspx?QS=38dfbe491fab00ea37b48fbad871a432a781c2e2dbd234649e2ab4fb3968988f" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-5" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Earth by email"> <div class="line1">Earth by email </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160419-about-us" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-6" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="About us"> <div class="line1">About us </div> </a> </li> <li class="featured featured-native last"> <div id="bbccom_verticalnavbar_1_2_3_4" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('verticalnavbar', [1,2,3,4]); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page"> <div id="page-lining">   <div id="story-page" class=" story-type-image">  <div class="hero-unit " data-hero-unit="true"> <div class="hero-unit-image-wrapper"> <div class="responsive-image-wrapper"> <img data-fixed-width-format="wwfeatures-1280-640" width="130" height="73" title="Hero A sea otter floating on its back in California " alt="Hero A sea otter floating on its back in California " class="responsive-hero" data-caption="" data-caption-title="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250im_/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/wm/live/130_73/images/live/p0/56/cj/p056cj5w.jpg" data-landscape/> </div> </div> <div class="hero-unit-overlay"> <div class="hero-unit-image-overlay-1"></div> <div class="hero-unit-image-overlay-2"></div> <div class="hero-unit-image-overlay-3"></div> </div> <div class="hero-unit-lining"> <div class="hero-unit-header-wrapper"> <div class="primary-header-wrapper"> <div class="primary-header primary-header-with-context"> <ul class="seperated-list context-heading-list"> <li class="seperated-list-item"> <span class="context-heading"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/tags/conservation" title="View Conservation"> Conservation</a> </span> </li> </ul> <h1 class="primary-heading" role="heading">Conservation success for otters on the brink</h1> </div> </div> <div class="secondary-header-wrapper"> <div id="bbccom_sponsor_section_4" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('sponsor_section', [4], false, 'IN ASSOCIATION WITH'); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div id="story-content" class="page-component-wrapper standard article-content">  <div class="primary-content" role="main"> <div class="mpu-wrapper"> <div id="bbccom_mpu_1_2_3" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('mpu', [1,2,3]); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix"> <div id="bbccom_sponsor_section_1_2_3" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('sponsor_section', [1,2,3], false, 'IN ASSOCIATION WITH'); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="primary-content-lining">  <div class="top-unit"> <div class="introduction-wrapper"> <p class="introduction">All over the world otter populations have been hanging in the balance, but two very different approaches have been successful in saving the species</p> </div> <div id="share-tools-top"> <ul class="share share--mobile share--article"> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button facebook" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.facebook&t=Conservation%20success%20for%20otters%20on%20the%20brink" data-share-destination="facebook" data-tracking-id="facebook" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--facebook"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share on Facebook</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button twitter" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Conservation%20success%20for%20otters%20on%20the%20brink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.twitter&via=BBCEarth" data-share-destination="twitter" data-tracking-id="twitter" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--twitter"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share on Twitter</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button reddit" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.reddit&title=Conservation%20success%20for%20otters%20on%20the%20brink" data-share-destination="reddit" data-tracking-id="reddit" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--reddit"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share on Reddit</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button whatsapp" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/whatsapp://send/?text=Conservation%20success%20for%20otters%20on%20the%20brink: http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.whatsapp" data-share-destination="whatsapp" data-tracking-id="whatsapp" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--whatsapp"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share on WhatsApp</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button google" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://plus.google.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.googleplus" data-share-destination="google" data-tracking-id="google" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--google-plus"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share on Google+</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button email" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/mailto:/?subject=Shared from BBC:Conservation%20success%20for%20otters%20on%20the%20brink&body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.email" data-share-destination="email" data-tracking-id="email" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--mail"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share by Email</span> </a> </div> </li></ul> <ul class="share share--desktop share--article"> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button facebook" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.facebook&t=Conservation%20success%20for%20otters%20on%20the%20brink" data-share-destination="facebook" data-tracking-id="facebook" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--facebook"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share on Facebook</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button twitter" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Conservation%20success%20for%20otters%20on%20the%20brink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.twitter&via=BBCEarth" data-share-destination="twitter" data-tracking-id="twitter" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--twitter"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share on Twitter</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button reddit" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.reddit&title=Conservation%20success%20for%20otters%20on%20the%20brink" data-share-destination="reddit" data-tracking-id="reddit" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--reddit"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share on Reddit</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button stumbleupon" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.stumbleupon" data-share-destination="stumbleupon" data-tracking-id="stumbleupon" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--stumbleupon"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share on StumbleUpon</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button google" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://plus.google.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.googleplus" data-share-destination="google" data-tracking-id="google" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--google-plus"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share on Google+</span> </a> </div> </li> <li class="share-item"> <div class="share-item-lining"> <a class="share-button email" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/mailto:/?subject=Shared from BBC:Conservation%20success%20for%20otters%20on%20the%20brink&body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.email" data-share-destination="email" data-tracking-id="email" target="_blank"> <span class="share-icon-wrapper share-icon-wrapper--social"> <span class="icon gelicon--mail"></span> </span> <span class="share-item-text">Share by Email</span> </a> </div> </li></ul> </div> </div>   <div class="mid-unit"> </div>   <div class="bottom-unit"> <div class="byline"> <span class="byline-heading"></span> <div class="source-attribution-wrapper"> <div class="source-attribution-detail"> <ul class="seperated-list source-attribution"> <li class="seperated-list-item source-attribution-author"><span class="index-body">By Jeremy Coles</span></li> </ul> <span class="publication-date index-body">20 June 2017</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="body-content"> <p>Loveable, playful, inquisitive, tenacious, energetic, versatile, charming and undeniably cute. These are just some of the words that can be used to describe an otter. If you’ve been lucky enough to see one of these shy semi-aquatic animals in the wild, you’ll instantly understand why.</p><p>But despite all their lovable qualities, otter populations all over the world hang in the balance.</p><p>Because they haven’t always been appreciated (at least not alive), <a title="The Otter Project: sea otter natural history" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.otterproject.org/about-sea-otters/natural-history/" target="_self">sea otters</a> were almost hunted to extinction for their warm and luxurious pelts. More recently, many species including <a title="The Endangered Species Handbook: common otter persecution and hunting" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/persecution_otters.php" target="_self">the common, or Eurasian, otter</a> have been hunted and trapped because they were seen as threats to fish stocks and competition for our food. Sometimes they were even killed for fun.</p><p><div class="inline-media inline-image"> <a data-replace-url="" data-anchor-title="Otters are very social and playful animals" data-caption="Otters are very social and playful animals (credit: Charlie Hamilton James)" data-caption-title="" data-replace-image="true" data-is-portrait="false" class="replace-image" title="Otters are very social and playful animals (Credit: credit: Charlie Hamilton James)" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/wm/live/624_351/images/live/p0/56/c7/p056c7hw.jpg"> View image of Otters are very social and playful animals (Credit: credit: Charlie Hamilton James) </a></div></p><p>It is not just deliberate hunting, trapping and persecution that cause otters to suffer; they have to cope with shrinking habitats and a shortage of food, are vulnerable to chemicals, pollutants and (for some species) oil spills. Accidentally getting caught in fishing nets, parasites and infectious diseases are yet further causes of fatalities.</p><p>These are big problems and a tall order for any group of animals to deal with.</p><p>Despite all these challenges, they are fighters with a range of skills and behaviours making them superbly adapted to life on land and in water.</p><p><div class="inline-media inline-image"> <a data-replace-url="" data-anchor-title="Otters are expert hunters" data-caption="Otters are expert hunters (credit: Charlie Hamilton James)" data-caption-title="" data-replace-image="true" data-is-portrait="false" class="replace-image" title="Otters are expert hunters (Credit: credit: Charlie Hamilton James)" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/wm/live/624_351/images/live/p0/56/c8/p056c814.jpg"> View image of Otters are expert hunters (Credit: credit: Charlie Hamilton James) </a></div></p><p>Found on every continent except Oceania and Antarctica, not one of the 13 species has yet become extinct.</p><p>This says a lot about the tenacious nature of these members of the mustelid family, but also about the efforts many organisations and individuals have played in their conservation. The approaches and use of technology may differ vastly in different parts of the world, but the long-term survival of the species is what matters.</p><p><strong>Sea otters in California</strong></p><p>It was a close call for the incredibly cute sea otter (<em>Enhydra lutris</em>) though.</p><p>During the fur trade of the 1700s and 1800s, the worldwide sea otter population was reduced from as many as 300,000 animals to as few as 2000, explains Andrew Johnson, Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Conservation Research Operations Manager.</p><p>They were relentlessly hunted for their pelts. With around a million hairs per square inch, it was regarded as one of the most prized animal furs in the world.</p><p>Along the Californian coast, the southern sea otter (<em>Enhydra lutris nereis</em>) was persecuted particularly badly, where numbers in the early 1900s were down to around 50 individuals (from 15,000) and were close to being wiped out.</p><p><div class="inline-media inline-image"> <a data-replace-url="" data-anchor-title="Sea otters have many skills and are very adaptable" data-caption="Sea otters have many skills and are very adaptable (credit: Inaki Relanzon / Naturepl.com)" data-caption-title="" data-replace-image="true" data-is-portrait="false" class="replace-image" title="Sea otters have many skills and are very adaptable (Credit: credit: Inaki Relanzon / Naturepl.com)" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/wm/live/624_351/images/live/p0/56/c8/p056c89n.jpg"> View image of Sea otters have many skills and are very adaptable (Credit: credit: Inaki Relanzon / Naturepl.com) </a></div></p><p>Thankfully, they are now protected and their numbers have recovered to around 125,000 - though they remain an endangered species.</p><p>Healthy populations have a profound effect on the overall health of kelp forests, estuaries, and coastal and ocean ecosystems, because, Johnson says, “When sea otters are absent, those systems often fall out of balance and become less diverse and resilient.”</p><p><a title="Monterey Bay Aquarium: southern sea otters" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/conservation-and-science/our-priorities/thriving-ocean-wildlife/southern-sea-otters" target="_self">Monterey Bay Aquarium</a> in California has worked with sea otters since it opened in 1984 and now operates a successful sea otter rescue and release programme, using state-of-the-art facilities and tracking implants to help them in their vital work.</p><p><div class="inline-media inline-image"> <a data-replace-url="" data-anchor-title="Rescued sea otters are looked after at Monterey Bay Aquarium" data-caption="Rescued sea otters are looked after at Monterey Bay Aquarium (credit: Minden Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo)" data-caption-title="" data-replace-image="true" data-is-portrait="false" class="replace-image" title="Rescued sea otters are looked after at Monterey Bay Aquarium (Credit: credit: Minden Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo)" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/wm/live/624_351/images/live/p0/56/c8/p056c8n2.jpg"> View image of Rescued sea otters are looked after at Monterey Bay Aquarium (Credit: credit: Minden Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo) </a></div></p><p>To help stranded sea otters, they have an Intensive Care Unit and multiple enclosures filled with filtered seawater with the capacity to hold 10 animals at one time. To monitor their progress once back in the wild, they use radio transmitters.</p><p>“We implant the transmitters so that we can track each otter and watch its behaviour following release,” he says.</p><p>Because the batteries last at least two years, young animals can often be tracked until they reach adulthood and reproduce, allowing the team to document the significant impact releasing sea otters into an area has on the ecosystem.</p><p>Largely due to legislation and the conservation work of dedicated organisations and charities such as Monterey Bay Aquarium, there is good news for California’s southern sea otters, as numbers are now up to 3000.</p><p>“This charismatic and vital species would not have survived without these protections.</p><p>“We need them to survive so they can exert positive effects on kelp forests and estuarine habitats, making those areas healthier and more ecologically diverse,” Johnson says.</p><p><strong>Hairy-nosed otters in Cambodia</strong></p><p>Not all approaches to conservation are so well funded, but this doesn’t mean they are any less successful.</p><p>The hairy-nosed otter (<em>Lutra sumatrana</em>) is one of the rarest and most endangered species of otter. In the 1990s, it was thought extinct throughout its range in Southeast Asia due to habitat loss, poaching, local consumption of otter meat and a loss of its sources of food.</p><p><div class="inline-media inline-image"> <a data-replace-url="" data-anchor-title="Hairs around the nostrils are a distinguishing features of hairy-nosed otters" data-caption="Hairs around the nostrils are one of the main distinguishing features of hairy-nosed otters compared to Eurasian otters (credit: Conservation International)" data-caption-title="" data-replace-image="true" data-is-portrait="false" class="replace-image" title="Hairs around the nostrils are a distinguishing features of hairy-nosed otters (Credit: credit: Conservation International)" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/wm/live/624_351/images/live/p0/56/c8/p056c8yq.jpg"> View image of Hairs around the nostrils are a distinguishing features of hairy-nosed otters (Credit: credit: Conservation International) </a></div></p><p>However, surveying between 2006 and 2013 at possible habitats confirmed the presence of several small populations. In Cambodia, for example, it was found in four areas; one of the largest populations being around the flooded forest surrounding the Tonle Sap Lake.</p><p>Now the species has been ‘rediscovered’, it needs to be protected so that the populations can be allowed to grow. And that’s where organisations such as <a title="Conservation International: Greater Mekong Project" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.conservation.org/where/Pages/Greater-Mekong-region.aspx" target="_self">Conservation International</a> have worked to protect and conserve the area and the species.</p><p>As Sokrith Heng, Conservation International’s lead researcher for the survey, explains, even though there are a number of laws and regulations to protect the species, enforcement on the ground is weak and limited and local people’s awareness of the importance of the wildlife and ecosystems they live in is very limited.</p><p><div class="inline-media inline-image"> <a data-replace-url="" data-anchor-title="A pair of juvenile hairy-nosed otters found in the house of a hunter" data-caption="A pair of juvenile hairy-nosed otters found in the house of a hunter (credit: Conservation International)" data-caption-title="" data-replace-image="true" data-is-portrait="false" class="replace-image" title="A pair of juvenile hairy-nosed otters found in the house of a hunter (Credit: credit: Conservation International)" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/wm/live/624_351/images/live/p0/56/c9/p056c95v.jpg"> View image of A pair of juvenile hairy-nosed otters found in the house of a hunter (Credit: credit: Conservation International) </a></div></p><p>Poverty in areas such as rural Cambodia can also be a problem and often pushes local communities to use natural resources in unsustainable ways.</p><p>In response to this, Conservation International took action at Tonle Sap Lake. Their approach was to restore critical habitat, raise awareness in local communities and schools, and suggest laws and regulations to better protect the species. They also established conservation zones, protecting these through collaboration with government and community rangers as well as helping local community fisheries to development alternative livelihoods.</p><p>Key to this was directly engaging local community members in otter research and forming a group of ‘otter ambassadors’ who help spread awareness resulting in stronger support from locals.</p><p>This is important Heng says because; “Educating local people means they can share their knowledge to other community members.”</p><p><div class="inline-media inline-image"> <a data-replace-url="" data-anchor-title="Flooded forests are an important habitat for hairy-nosed otters" data-caption="Flooded forests are an important habitat for hairy-nosed otters (credit: Conservation International)" data-caption-title="" data-replace-image="true" data-is-portrait="false" class="replace-image" title="Flooded forests are an important habitat for hairy-nosed otters (Credit: credit: Conservation International)" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/wm/live/624_351/images/live/p0/56/c9/p056c9bh.jpg"> View image of Flooded forests are an important habitat for hairy-nosed otters (Credit: credit: Conservation International) </a></div></p><p>An important part of the successful conservation here is ensuring that local communities are able to sustainably use and manage their resources, and that the communities are financially stronger, explains Heng. For example, some community fisheries now have better protection for the otters: they are patrolling the area to stop illegal activities and teaching otter conservation in the local area.</p><p>At Tonle Sap Lake, these approaches resulted in fewer otter traps and skins being recorded by officials and researchers, both signs that fewer animals were being killed. While ongoing habitat restoration combined with less hunting and greater awareness is helping to ensure a brighter future for the hairy-nosed otter.</p><p>Although the technology maybe very different to that used at Monterey Bay, this method of conservation has been just as successful, as hairy-nosed otters now have at least one stronghold in Cambodia.</p><p>It is a good result for the country and for a species that was once thought extinct.</p><p><em>UK viewers can watch <a title="Natural World: Supercharged Otters" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08w61m6" target="_self">Natural World: Supercharged Otters</a> on <a title="iPlayer: Natural World - Supercharged Otters" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08w61m6/natural-world-20172018-5-supercharged-otters" target="_self">iPlayer</a>.</em></p><p><em>Never miss a moment. Sign-up now for the <a title="Sign-up for the BBC Earth newsletter" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://pages.s6.exacttarget.com/page.aspx?QS=773ed3059447707dc886c515d1ff5a33ac4c04337acad3b65cdf6bea5f69f255" target="_self">BBC Earth newsletter</a>.</em></p> </div> </div>  <div class="clearfix"></div> <section> <div id="share-tools-bottom"></div> </section> </div>  </div>   <div class="secondary-content"> <div class="mpu-wrapper"> <div id="bbccom_ad_feature_rc_1_2_3_4" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('ad_feature_rc', [1,2,3,4]); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mpu-wrapper"> <div id="bbccom_mpu_4" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('mpu', [4]); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mpu-wrapper"> <div id="bbccom_native_side_1_2_3_4" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('native_side', [1,2,3,4]); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </div> <div id="related-stories-secondary" class="component-placeholder related-stories"></div> <div id="weather-forecast-secondary" class="component-placeholder"></div> <div id="follow-us" class="headed-section "> <div class="headed-section-lining"> <header> <div class="section-header"> <div class="section-title-wrapper"> <h2 class="section-title">Follow BBC Earth</h2> </div> </div> </header> <div class="section-body"> <div class="headed-section-content"> <ul id="follow-us-items" class="" data-cs-module="follow-us"> <li class="follow-us-item follow-us-item-facebook"> <div class="follow-us-item-lining"> <a target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.facebook.com/BBCEarth" data-cs-id="follow-us-facebook" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Facebook"> <div class="icon-wrapper"> <span class="icon gelicon--facebook"></span> </div> <div class="follow-us-item-text">Facebook</div> </a> </div> </li> <li class="follow-us-item follow-us-item-twitter"> <div class="follow-us-item-lining"> <a target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://twitter.com/BBCEarth" data-cs-id="follow-us-twitter" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Twitter"> <div class="icon-wrapper"> <span class="icon gelicon--twitter"></span> </div> <div class="follow-us-item-text">Twitter</div> </a> </div> </li> <li class="follow-us-item follow-us-item-youtube"> <div class="follow-us-item-lining"> <a target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://www.youtube.com/user/BBCEarth" data-cs-id="follow-us-youtube" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Youtube"> <div class="icon-wrapper"> <span class="icon gelicon--youtube"></span> </div> <div class="follow-us-item-text">Youtube</div> </a> </div> </li> <li class="follow-us-item follow-us-item-instagram"> <div class="follow-us-item-lining"> <a target="_blank" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://instagram.com/bbcearth" data-cs-id="follow-us-instagram" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Instagram"> <div class="icon-wrapper"> <span class="icon gelicon--instagram"></span> </div> <div class="follow-us-item-text">Instagram</div> </a> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mpu-wrapper"> <div id="bbccom_promo_feature_1_1_2_3_4" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('promo_feature_1', [1,2,3,4]); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </div> <div id="best-of-secondary" class="component-placeholder best-of-list"></div> <div class="mpu-wrapper"> <div id="bbccom_mpu_bottom_1_2_3_4" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('mpu_bottom', [1,2,3,4]); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </div> </div>  </div> <div class="standalone-parallax-wrapper"> <div class="parallax-slot-wrapper"> <div id="bbccom_parallax_1_2_3_4" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('parallax', [1,2,3,4]); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="page-component-wrapper"> <div class="single-column"> <div class="primary-content"> <div id="best-of-primary" class="component-placeholder best-of-list"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="page-component-wrapper"> <div class="single-column"> <div class="primary-content"> <div id="more-amazing-stories-primary" class="component-placeholder more-amazing-stories-list"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <noscript> <div id="nav-bottom"> <div class="navigation-wrapper " data-cs-module="navigation"> <ul class="navigation-list" role="navigation" aria-label=""> <li class=" first"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/world" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-0" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Home"> <div class="line1">Home </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/columns/attenboroughs-story-of-life" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-1" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Attenborough's Story of Life"> <div class="line1">Attenborough's Story of Life </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/columns/the-big-questions" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-2" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Big Questions"> <div class="line1">Big Questions </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/columns/discoveries " class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-3" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Discoveries"> <div class="line1">Discoveries </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/columns/video" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-4" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Video"> <div class="line1">Video </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/https://pages.s6.exacttarget.com/page.aspx?QS=38dfbe491fab00ea37b48fbad871a432a781c2e2dbd234649e2ab4fb3968988f" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-5" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="Earth by email"> <div class="line1">Earth by email </div> </a> </li> <li class=""> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160419-about-us" class="navigation-link" data-cs-id="nav-6" data-cs-event="click" data-cs-element-name="About us"> <div class="line1">About us </div> </a> </li> <li class="featured featured-native last"> <div id="bbccom_verticalnavbar_1_2_3_4" class="bbccom_slot" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="bbccom_advert"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.slotAsync('verticalnavbar', [1,2,3,4]); } /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </noscript> <div id="extra-footer" class="extra-footer" class="clearfix"> <div class="page-component-wrapper"> <div id="around-bbc" class="component-placeholder around-the-bbc"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>  </div> </div> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250js_/http://static.bbcverticals.com/earth/config/live/story/20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink/config.json"></script> <script> if(hasTheMustard()|| hasFixedWidthLayout()){ var requirePaths={}; if(isWebKit()){ requirePaths.jquery="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/static/80639ec75e40/components/jquery-modern/dist/jquery"; }else{ requirePaths.jquery= "https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/static/80639ec75e40/components/jquery-legacy/jquery"; } require.config({ paths:requirePaths, shim: { 'selectivity': ['jquery'], 'actual': ['jquery'] } }); require(['wwearth/main'], function(App){ var myApp = new App(); } ); } </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250js_/http://www.bbc.com/earth/static/80639ec75e40/scripts/vendor/comscore/comscore.js"></script> <noscript> <p> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250im_/http://ssc.api.bbc.com/?c1=2&c2=19774467&ns_site=bbc&name=bbc_-_earth_-_conservation_success_for_otters_on_the_brink&b_vs_un=bc&c7=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink&b_c7=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink&c8=bbc_-_earth_-_conservation_success_for_otters_on_the_brink&b_app_type=web&b_app_name=earth%7Crc43&b_imp_ver=rc43&b_imp_src=wwf&b_site_channel=earth&b_edition=international&b_page_type=sty%7Cimg&b_article_title=conservation%20success%20for%20otters%20on%20the%20brink&b_article_id=wwearth%2Fstory%2F20170619-conservation-success-for-otters-on-the-brink&b_article_author=jeremy%20coles&b_article_theme=conservation&b_article_date=1497949137100&b_article_update=1497949137100&b_article_length=6333" height="1" width="1" alt="*"/> </p> </noscript> <script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-47973230-2', 'bbc.com'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var _sf_async_config={}; _sf_async_config.useCanonical = true; _sf_async_config.uid = '50924'; _sf_async_config.domain = 'bbc.co.uk'; _sf_async_config.sections = 'earth,conservation'; _sf_async_config.authors = 'Jeremy Coles'; (function(){ function loadChartbeat() { window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime(); var e = document.createElement("script"); e.setAttribute("language", "javascript"); e.setAttribute("type", "text/javascript"); e.setAttribute('src', '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.chartbeat.com/js/chartbeat.js'); document.body.appendChild(e); } var oldonload = window.onload; window.onload = (typeof window.onload != "function") ? loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); }; })(); </script> </div> <div id="orb-footer" class="orb-footer orb-footer-grey b-footer--grey--white"> <div id="navp-orb-footer-promo" class="orb-footer-grey"></div> <aside role="complementary"> <div id="orb-aside" class="orb-nav-sec b-r b-g-p"> <div class="orb-footer-inner" role="navigation"> <h2 class="orb-footer-lead">Explore the BBC</h2> <div class="orb-footer-primary-links"> <ul> <li class="orb-nav-home orb-d"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.co.uk/">Home</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-homedotcom orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/">Home</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-news orb-d"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news">News</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-newsdotcom orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/news">News</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-sport"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/sport/">Sport</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-weather"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/weather/">Weather</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-shop orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://shop.bbc.com/">Shop</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-earthdotcom orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/">Earth</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-travel-dotcom orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/travel/">Travel</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-capital orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/capital/">Capital</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-iplayer orb-d"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/iplayer/">iPlayer</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-culture orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/culture/">Culture</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-autos orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/autos/">Autos</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-future orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/future/">Future</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-tv"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/tv/">TV</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-radio"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/radio/">Radio</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-cbbc"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/cbbc">CBBC</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-cbeebies"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/cbeebies">CBeebies</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-food"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/food/">Food</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/iwonder">iWonder</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/education">Bitesize</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-travel orb-d"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/travel/">Travel</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-music"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/music/">Music</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-earth orb-d"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/earth/">Earth</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-arts"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/arts/">Arts</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-makeitdigital"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/makeitdigital">Make It Digital</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/taster">Taster</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-nature orb-w"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/nature/">Nature</a> </li> <li class="orb-nav-local"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/local/">Local</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </aside> <footer role="contentinfo"> <div id="orb-contentinfo" class="orb-nav-sec b-r b-g-p"> <div class="orb-footer-inner"> <ul> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/terms/">Terms of Use</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/">About the BBC</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/privacy/">Privacy Policy</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/privacy/cookies/about">Cookies</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/accessibility/">Accessibility Help</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/guidance/">Parental Guidance</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/contact/">Contact the BBC</a> </li> <li class=" orb-w"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://advertising.bbcworldwide.com/">Advertise with us</a> </li> <li class=" orb-w"> <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/privacy/cookies/international/">Ad choices</a> </li> </ul> <small> <span class="orb-hilight">Copyright © 2017 BBC.</span> The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. <a href="/web/20170804104250/http://www.bbc.com/help/web/links/" class="orb-hilight">Read about our approach to external linking.</a> </small> </div> </div> </footer> </div> <div class="bbccom_display_none"><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && window.bbcdotcom.analytics && bbcdotcom.config && !bbcdotcom.config.isSportApp()) { bbcdotcom.analytics.page(); } /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.currencyProviders) { bbcdotcom.currencyProviders.write(); } /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.currencyProviders) { bbcdotcom.currencyProviders.postWrite(); } /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.data && bbcdotcom.data.stats && bbcdotcom.data.stats === 1 && bbcdotcom.utils && window.location.pathname === '/' && window.bbccookies && bbccookies.readPolicy('performance') ) { var wwhpEdition = bbcdotcom.utils.getMetaPropertyContent('wwhp-edition'); var _sf_async_config={}; /** CONFIGURATION START **/ _sf_async_config.uid = 50924; _sf_async_config.domain = "bbc.co.uk"; _sf_async_config.title = "Homepage"+(wwhpEdition !== '' ? ' - '+wwhpEdition : ''); _sf_async_config.sections = "Homepage"+(wwhpEdition !== '' ? ', Homepage - '+wwhpEdition : ''); _sf_async_config.region = wwhpEdition; _sf_async_config.path = "/"+(wwhpEdition !== '' ? '?'+wwhpEdition : ''); /** CONFIGURATION END **/ (function(){ function loadChartbeat() { window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime(); var e = document.createElement("script"); e.setAttribute("language", "javascript"); e.setAttribute("type", "text/javascript"); e.setAttribute('src', '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://static.chartbeat.com/js/chartbeat.js'); document.body.appendChild(e); } var oldonload = window.onload; window.onload = (typeof window.onload != "function") ? loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); }; })(); } /*]]>*/ </script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function() { window.bbcdotcom.bodyLast = true; }()); /*]]>*/ </script></div> <script type="text/javascript" id="orb-js-script" data-assetpath="http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.21.24/orb/4/" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20170804104250js_/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.21.24/orb/4/script/orb.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> (function() { 'use strict'; var promoManager = { url: '', promoLoaded: false, makeUrl: function (theme, site, win) { var loc = win? win.location : window.location, proto = loc.protocol, host = loc.host, url = proto + '//' + ((proto.match(/s:/i) && !host.match(/^www\.(int|test)\./i))? 'ssl.' : 'www.'), themes = ['light', 'dark']; if ( host.match(/^(?:www|ssl|m)\.(int|test|stage|live)\.bbc\./i) ) { url += RegExp.$1 + '.'; } else if ( host.match(/^pal\.sandbox\./i) ) { url += 'test.'; } theme = themes[ +(theme === themes[0]) ]; return url + 'bbc.co.uk/navpromo/card/' + site + '/' + theme; }, init: function(node) { var disabledByCookie = (document.cookie.indexOf('ckns_orb_nopromo=1') > -1), that = this; if (window.promomanagerOverride) { for (var p in promomanagerOverride) { that[p] = promomanagerOverride[p]; } } if ( window.orb.fig('uk') && !disabledByCookie ) { require(['orb/async/_footerpromo', 'istats-1'], function(promo, istats) { var virtualSite = istats.getSite() || 'default'; that.url = (window.promomanagerOverride || that).makeUrl('light', virtualSite); if (that.url) { promo.load(that.url, node, { onSuccess: function(e) { if(e.status === 'success') { node.parentNode.className = node.parentNode.className + ' orb-footer-promo-loaded'; promoManager.promoLoaded = true; promoManager.event('promo-loaded').fire(e); } }, onError: function() { istats.log('error', 'orb-footer-promo-failed'); bbccookies.set('ckns_orb_nopromo=1; expires=' + new Date(new Date().getTime() + 1000 * 60 * 10).toGMTString() + ';path=/;'); } }); } }); } } }; define('orb/promomanager', ['orb/lib/_event'], function (event) { event.mixin(promoManager); return promoManager; }); require(['orb/promomanager'], function (promoManager) { promoManager.init(document.getElementById('navp-orb-footer-promo')); }) })(); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> require.config({ paths: { "mybbc/templates": '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://mybbc.files.bbci.co.uk/notification-ui/3.8.1/templates', "mybbc/notifications": '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://mybbc.files.bbci.co.uk/notification-ui/3.8.1/js' } }); require(['mybbc/notifications/NotificationsMain', 'idcta/idcta-1'], function (NotificationsMain, idcta) { var loadNotifications = function (fig) { if (fig.geo.isUK()) { NotificationsMain.run(idcta, '//web.archive.org/web/20170804104250/http://mybbc.files.bbci.co.uk/notification-ui/3.8.1/'); } }; var orbFig = window.orb.fig; if (typeof orbFig.load === 'function') { // Use new async API from Orbit orbFig.load(loadNotifications, loadNotifications); } else { // Use old sync-only API from PAL orbfig project loadNotifications(orbFig); } }); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> if (typeof require !== 'undefined') { require(['istats-1'], function(istats){ istats.track('external', { region: document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0] }); istats.track('download', { region: document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0] }); }); } </script> <script type="text/javascript"> if( window.SEARCHBOX.suppress === false && window.SEARCHBOX.locale && /^en-?.*?/.test(window.SEARCHBOX.locale) ){ require.config({ paths: { "search/searchbox": window.SEARCHBOX.searchboxAppStaticPrefix } }); require(['search/searchbox/searchboxDrawer'], function(SearchboxDrawer) { SearchboxDrawer.run(window.SEARCHBOX); }); } </script> <script type="text/javascript">require(["megavolt-client","istats-1","orb/cookies"],function(t,e,i){function o(){return"true"===l&&s&&t&&"function"==typeof t.addMVTIStatsLabels}function n(){!c&&o()?setTimeout(function(){e.invoke()},"1000"):e.invoke()}var a=navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase(),s=!(a.indexOf("msie")>-1)||parseInt(a.split("msie")[1],10)>10,c=!1,l="false";if(i.isAllowed("s1"))try{if(o()&&t.addMVTIStatsLabels(function(t){e.addLabels(t),c=!0}),!require.s.contexts._.config.paths.idcta)return void n();require(["idcta/idcta-1"],function(t){t&&"function"==typeof t.getIStatsLabels&&e.addLabels(t.getIStatsLabels()),n()},function(t){throw t})}catch(t){console&&"function"==typeof console.log&&console.log("an exception occurred while adding idcta labels to istats, invoking istats without them",t),n()}});</script> </body> </html>