LANXESS Pty Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of German Specialty Chemicals Group LANXESS, has partnered with the Taronga Conservation Society Australia as a Champion Sponsor of the Small-clawed Otters.

The asian small-clawed Otter is the smallest otter species in the world, weighing less than 5 kilograms. They are commonly found in the waterways of South East Asia in wetland systems such as freshwater swamps, meandering rivers, mangroves and tidal pools of Bangladesh, Burma, India, Southern China, Taiwan, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Due to ongoing habitat loss, pollution and hunting in some areas, the Oriental Small-clawed Otter is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Read more about our otters Arnie, Bising, Soa and Houdini here.

The Taronga Conservation Society Australia is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and the Zoo and Aquarium Association (previously ARAZPA). The Taronga Conservation Society Australia contributes to the conservation of biodiversity through a range of activities spanning various programs at Taronga and Western Plains Zoo and attracts 1.5 million visitors per annum. The zoos care for approximately 4,000 animals from over 350 species through a wide range of strategic conservation research, breeding and conservation projects around the world. In 2009, Taronga Zoo was voted as Sydney’s No 1 attraction by Sydneysiders and interstate visitors in the New South Wales Chamber of Commerce Survey. Recently, Taronga Zoo won the prestigious National ‘Major Tourist Attraction’ Award at the Awards ceremony held in Perth on 18 March 2011.