EcoLur
The "unusual beast-mutant" of the Debed River was an otter, Director of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Armenia Office Karen Manvelian said during a talk with representatives of EcoLur NGO. He denied the local mass media reports that a beast-mutant allegedly emerged in the river. According to him, the description of the beast by the witnesses resembles the description of otters whose burrows are on the river bank. Otters eat fish and can swim. "No wonder that the people who saw the otter took this animal for a mutant. We have become disaccustomed to unexplored nature and stopped recognizing animals that used to live in our rivers and whose number is gradually declining," K. Manvelian said.
He underlined that otters are not aggressive animals. "Like any other animal, the otter defends itself when people try to catch him," Director of WWF Armenia said, adding that the otter as an endangered species is included in the Red Book of Armenia and the International Red List.
August 21, 2009