‘Otterly fintastic’: Cape clawless otter eats sharks in Simon’s Town [photos]

Often found in freshwater bodies along the coastline, a Cape clawless otter is also known as an African clawless otter or groot otter. 

These creatures are often found feasting on crabs, fish, frogs, octopus, squid, small mammals, birds, insects and in some cases also rock lobster. But earlier this month, free diver Jacqui Smith captured the rare occurrence of a Cape clawless otter digging into two puff adder and dark shysharks in Murdock Valley North, Simon’s Town.

The rare sighting

In an official statement shared on Save Our Seas Foundation, a global organisation dedicated to the conservation and protection of the marine environment, Smith explains how the encounter took place. 

“After some depth training in False Bay, we saw a cute little otter casually swimming up to a boulder with a dark shyshark in its mouth. I approached slowly as I was nervous to frighten it, but the otter was fully engrossed in a delightful mermaid’s purse found inside the shark’s belly, like a cat that got the cream.

After only a few mouthfuls it ditched the shark and jumped back in the water, only to surface with another shyshark in its mouth. Again, after only eating a select few bites, the otter was back in the water — within 40 seconds it surfaced with yet another shyshark. Overall it munched its way through five shysharks before swimming off beyond the kelp.”

Mermaid’s purses are the eggs found within the sharks, and Save Our Seas Foundation explained why the Cape clawless otter only picked out selected parts of its fresh kill.

“We can’t be sure, but picking out bits like the calorific mermaid’s purses (shark eggs) and certain organs, the otter is probably trying to get the most calories for the least effort — pop out the best bits, catch another! Similar to how the killer whales in False Bay are killing the white sharks only to eat the calorie-rich livers.” 

Facts about the Cape clawless otter 

Cape clawless otters can be characterised by their front paws that are “finger-like” but lack actual claws hence the term clawless. 

With soft and dark brown fur with white chins and chests, these mammals can be found along the coastal section of Murdock Valley, Simon’s Town or near Pringle Bay. 

There are several threats to the species, including human encroachment, lack of access to freshwater springs, the removal of coastal shrubs and pollution.

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