Locals set up otter conservation points after finding the semi-aquatic mammals nesting there.

Non-government organisation Living River Association (LRA) coordinated with the King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi to install camera traps and collect otter spraints along the Ing River in Chiang Rai province, Thailand.

They found that families of Eurasian or common otters had been living near the river's banks because of its abundance in fish.

Local fisherman Muan Chaiyarach said the otters did not pose a threat to their livelihood.

Kraithong Ngaonoi of the LRA said they arranged the observation points after residents reported the otter sightings.

He said: 'We found a lot of otter footprints. The footage is also important because it indicates that because it was previously unknown that otters had been living here.'

The common otter is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, placing it under 'species threatened with extinction.'