Otter watch keeps eye on urban rivers

Project launch

On Dec 4, 2024, a short video posted on social media showed an otter swimming near the New Century Global Center, a landmark building in downtown Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.

The otter, which appeared briefly, sparked the curiosity of Hu and her colleague, Yu Huan. Hu, 37, who has worked on river conservation in the Chengdu Plain since 2014, was inspired by environmental advocacy during her college days and graduate studies in environmental economics and public policy.

In 2018, she founded the social enterprise with Yu, an ardent birdwatcher and nature lover, with a small goal — to reveal and rebuild the profound connection between cities and rivers, and between humans and water. "It's not easy," she said. "Urban rivers can seem dull due to decades of urbanization and management. So, when an otter swam into the city center, I was secretly thrilled. What better way to spark people's imagination about the river world than a mammal?"

Within 24 hours, over 10 local nature observers and conservationists, including Hu and Yu, began searching for the otter. They searched for several nights but found nothing — no footprints, no droppings — and produced no images.

Just as many stopped looking, another sighting occurred on Dec 31, 2024. This time, it was even more surprising. An otter was not in the water but was seen walking along a riverside greenbelt. The social media video was titled, "Does anyone know what this big rat is?"

"For me, this wasn't just a wildlife sighting. It was a moment of encounter between two mammals, otters and humans, in the city," Hu said.

At that time, Hu and Yu didn't know whether the otter was just passing through or had settled in the urban waterways. What did this mean for urban river ecology and biodiversity? They realized that the otters might bring important information, and if they didn't respond, they would miss a critical window for data collection.

So, they made a decision — "We need to respond more seriously and systematically to the otters that swam into the city center," Hu said. In 2025, the pair launched the Chengdu Otter Watch project.