Research Activity and the Role of the Korean Otter Research Center

Abstract

The population of the Eurasian otter in Korea has declined rapidly during the last several decades, and they were designated as Natural monument and Korean endangered species I. To conserve them more effectively, the Korean otter research center (KORC), which is the only specialized otter research institution in Asia was built in Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea. The main purpose of this article is to introduce Eurasian otter conservation in Korea through its history and research activity. Furthermore, the KORC sometimes supplies valuable reproductive information of the Eurasian otter to foreign countries. The success of the otter artificial rearing at Taipei zoo, Taiwan, by referring to this information is also introduced in this article.