Editing Asian small-clawed otter (section)

== Distribution and habitat==
The Asian small-clawed otter's native range comprises parts of India to Southeast Asia including the islands of [[Sumatra]], Java, [[Borneo]] and [[Palawan (island)|Palawan]]. It lives in freshwater [[wetland]]s such as [[swamp]]s, meandering rivers, irrigated rice fields as well as [[estuary|estuaries]], coastal [[lagoon]]s and [[tide|tidal]] pools. It occurs in West Bengal, Assam and [[Arunachal Pradesh]], and in coastal regions of [[Odisha]]. In [[Karnataka]], [[Nilgiri hills|Nilgiri]] and [[Palni hills]] in [[Tamil Nadu]], it lives in shallow mountain creeks up to an elevation of {{cvt|2000|m}}.<ref name=iucn />
In [[West Java]], it inhabits areas along slow-flowing irrigation channels, pond areas and rice fields surrounded by vegetation that offers shelter. It also occurs in [[mangrove forest]]s.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Melisch, R. |author2=Kusumawardhani, L. |author3=Asmoro, P. B. |author4=Lubis, I. R. |name-list-style=amp |year=1996 |title=The otters of west Java – a survey of their distribution and habitat use and a strategy towards a species conservation programme |location=Bogor, Indonesia |publisher=Wetlands International – Indonesia Programme}}</ref>
In February 2025, the Asian small-clawed otter was photographed in [[Dadeldhura District]] in far-western [[Nepal]].<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Shrestha, M.B. |author2=Shrestha, G. |author3=Dangaura, H.L. |author4=Chaudhary, R. |author5=Shrestha, P.M. |name-list-style=amp |author6=Dewan, K. |author7=Sada, R. |author8=Savage, M.  |author9=Zuofu Xiang |year=2025 |title=Confirmation of the presence of Asian Small-clawed Otter ''Aonyx cinereus'' in Nepal after 185 years |journal=IUCN Otter Specialist Group Bulletin |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=3–8 |url=https://www.iucnosgbull.org/Volume42/Shrestha_et_al_2025.html}}</ref>

In the 1980s, a few Asian small-clawed otters escaped from captivity in [[England]] and established a population in the wild.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jefferies, D. J. |year=1989 |title=The Asian short-clawed otter ''Amblonyx cinerea'' (Illiger) living wild in Britain |journal=Otters (Earsham) |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=21–25}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Jefferies, D. J. |year=1991 |title=Another record of an Asian short-clawed otter living free in Oxford with notes on its implications |journal=Journal of the Otter Trust |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=9–12}}</ref> It was likely driven out by the recovery of the native [[Eurasian otter]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parrott, D. |author2=Roy, S. |author3=Fletcher, M. |year=2008 |title=The status of scarce non-native birds and mammals in England |url=https://www.nonnativespecies.org/assets/Document-repository/Scarce_non-natives_final_report_v3.pdf |access-date=11 October 2024}}</ref>