Page 22 - World of Animals - Issue #33

Otters of the world

Giant otters battle with

jaguars for prey

The giants of the otter world go head to head with
big cats in a never-ending competition for food

This Amazonian giant is the largest
GIANT OTTER
Pteronura brasiliensis otter species and the longest of all the
Class Mammalia mustelids. If size alone isn’t enough to
identify one, the large creamy white
patch of fur on the throat can easily
distinguish them. It’s even possible to tell
Territory The Amazon River the difference between individual giant
Diet Fish, crustaceans, otters by looking at these patches, as no
caimans, snakes two are the same.
Lifespan 12 years

Adult weight 22-26kg (49- One benefit of their large size is the
57lb) ability to be able to hunt different kinds
Conservation status of prey. From crabs and shrimp, to small
caimans (small alligators) and anacondas.
They even eat piranhas. They rely mostly
ENDANGERED
on their eyesight to hunt but they also
have a trick up their non-existent sleeves;
their whiskers are able to detect changes in the water’s current and
pressure. This helps to track fast moving fish through the sometimes-

murky river. Their diet isn’t too dissimilar to the jaguar, meaning they
compete with the fearsome big cats for food.
They are highly social and travel the rainforest waterways in family
groups as large as 20. But being sociable doesn’t necessarily mean
they aren’t territorial and home ranges are regularly patrolled to
ensure otters from other groups don’t stray into their territory. Within
their tight-knit groups river otters are known for chattering away to
one another incessantly and are able to produce at least 22 different
vocalisations as a means of communication that come in the form of
whistles, growls, and yelps.

Back from the brink of extinction

It was presumed the hairy-nosed otter was extinct
HAIRY-NOSED OTTER
The hairy-nosed otter, as its name suggests, does in fact Lutra sumatrana
have a hairy nose. This is unusual because most other Class Mammalia
otter species have noses more like a dog’s and it makes

them easily identifiable. Possibly the rarest otter in the
world, it was thought to be extinct right up until 1998
when a few small populations were discovered living in Territory Southeast Asia
isolated locations in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Diet Fish and crustaceans

Cambodia. Although finding the species isn’t actually Lifespan Unknown
extinct is good news, there are sadly only a few hundred Adult weight 5-8kg (11-18lb)
Conservation status
individuals left in the wild. They continue to decrease as
they are hunted for their fur and their wetland habitat
becomes increasingly polluted and converted to land ENDANGERED
used for palm oil plantations and agriculture.

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