Page 132 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

132 ATLAS OF THE WORLD’S STRANGEST ANIMALS

An animal can grow as big as its ecosystem can support –
Giant otter habitats
and the Amazon Rainforest can support some real giants.
This immense region stretches across nine nations and
contains around 5.5 million square kilometres
(1.4 billion acres) of wet, broadleaf forest. Running
through this natural wonder is the magnificent Amazon
River, which flows for over 6437km (4000 miles). In the
dry season, sections of this great river are more than 11km
(7 miles) wide, but when the rains come, the river takes
possession of swathes of rainforest and swells to more than
40km (25 miles) across.
Despite the fact that development and climate change
have devastated this region in recent decades, this is still an
area of abundance where, with food and space to spare,
many animals have grown big and bold. It’s here that
you’ll find huge spiders, monstrously large snakes, gigantic
reptiles like the Amazon River turtle and, of course, the
giant otter.
Over many millennia, these beautiful beasts have evolved
to make the most of a semi-aquatic, riverside life.Their
flexible bodies are torpedo-shaped, with webbed feet and a advantages to being so bizarrely big, especially if it means
muscular tail, which makes them acrobatic swimmers.They that you’re not restricted to a purely fish diet.
can also close their ears and nose while underwater, and
their fur is so dense that their skin does not get wet.Their Family ties
hands and feet are remarkably dextrous, enabling them to They may look like over-sized dogs, but giant otters are
catch and manipulate a wide range of slippery, aquatic one of the top predators in their environment.They have
foods.Their super-sensitive whiskers help them to detect few natural enemies apart from man – who hunted it for
tell-tale movements beneath the water.And strong teeth its fur – and will tackle any animal not fast enough to
and powerful jaws make short work of ‘armoured’ escape their clutches.An adult giant otter needs to eat
delicacies, like crabs.The otters’ great size does make 6–10kg (13.2–22lb) of food per day. Most of their diet is
finding suitable habitats difficult, but there are definite medium-sized fish, but they’ve been known to eat catfish

Sliding his sleek body into the water with barely a ripple, the Propelled down, through the water, by his powerful tail and
otter heads out to his favourite hunting site. webbed feet, he soon spots a fish on the river bed.

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.