Otters spotted in Kashmir waters, and residents are both thrilled and wary

A nomadic woman washes utensils on the banks of the Lidder tributary in Hugam, which has become the second documented location of Eurasian otter in Indian-administered Kashmir [Jehangir Ali/Al Jazeera]

Hugam, Indian-administered Kashmir – Nasir Amin Bhat, 17, was barely ankle-deep in the water when his school friend and neighbour Adil Ahmad shouted from the riverbank on a breezy summer evening in May.

“Turn back! There’s something in the water.”