Aashna Sharma
The Mysterious, Elegant Water Shrew: A Rare Glimpse into the Hidden Mammal of Himalayan Currents
In this Wildbuzz feature, Dr. Aashna Sharma brings readers face-to-face with one of the most elusive and least-understood mammals of the Himalayan waters—the elegant water shrew (Nectogale elegans). Unlike its house-dwelling cousin known for musky odours and nocturnal skittering, the elegant water shrew is a marvel of aquatic evolution: fin-tailed, fringed-limbed, and almost phantom-like in its ability to glide through mountain streams.
Discovered serendipitously during fieldwork on climate change impacts on native snow trout, this brief encounter offers rare insight into the lives of aquatic mammals thriving in overlooked alpine habitats. The article challenges the public’s perception of shrews and highlights the pressing need to appreciate, study, and conserve these mysterious freshwater micro-mammals, whose stories are still largely unwritten in Indian science.