Pictures and facts about the Giant otter

Picture has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license
Original source: Photograph by Renaud d'Avout d'Auerstaedt (http://renaud.davout.org/), registered wikipedian (rdavout). Date taken: 2006-10-24. Place taken: Venezuela - Estado Federal - Caracas - Parque del Este. Description: Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) in Venezuela. Keywords: otter; giant otter.

Giant otter

Order : Carnivora
Family : Mustelidae
Subfamily : Lutrinae
Species : Pteronura brasiliensis

As its name indicates, the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is the largest otter in the world. Its body length can reach up to 1.4 m while its tail alone can grow to be 30 cm to 100 cm. The average weight of an adult giant otter can reach up to 34 kgs. The males are larger than the females.

The giant otter's feet have been adapted for their amphibious life. They have strong claws and big webbed feet, and its under-fur is water-repellent. The giant otter is extremely dark brown, almost black in color, except for a distinctive white spot at the throat's area. The giant otter lives in the larger rivers of the tropical rainforests in South America, preferring the slower rivers where vegetation is thick at the banks. To avoid their predators, the puma and jaguar, giant otters avoid bare ground, when possible, and prefer to live in areas with a large amount of vegetation.

In the past, the giant otter’s range was from Venezuela to northern Argentina; however, currently they are found only in Guyana and Brazil. Giant otters are social and live in groups, called holts. The holts are territorial. A giant otter holt consists of family members, typically siblings. The entire holt will help to rear the young and defend their territory.

Giant otters subsist primarily on fish, particularly catfish and perch. However, on occasions when fish is scarce, they will eat crustaceans, caiman and even snakes.

Interesting fact: This otter is able to eat six to nine pounds of food in a single day.

Picture of the Giant otter by Renaud d'Avout d'Auerstaedt (http://renaud.davout.org/), licensed under Attribution ShareAlike 2.5

Facts about the giant otter

The giant otter is threatened by habitat destruction and persecution and has virtually disappeared from much of its original range.

Pteronura brasiliensis is endemic to South America. (Full text)

» Ferrets Animal Description: Playful and beautiful, the rare Giant Otter is an amazing creature to observe in the wild. (Full text)

Animal Description: Playful and beautiful, the rare Giant Otter is an amazing creature to observe in the wild. (Full text)

Though normally found in rivers, Giant Otters are occasionally found living in reservoirs or agricultural canals. (Full text)

2004 Project No: F200402 The giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is one of the most endangered mammal species in the Neotropical region and one of four endangered otter species in the world. (Full text)

Giant Otters are carnivorous mammals in the marten-family. (Full text)

The Giant of South America The Giant or Brazilian Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is the largest of the world’s 13 otter species and is endemic to the rainforests and wetlands of South America. (Full text)

The Giant Otters are a tourist attraction in Peru. (Full text)

Abstract The Giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is the biggest among all (Full text)

Giant otters are very social animals. (Full text)

The giant otter is the South American cousin to the sea and river (Full text)

Of the freshwater otters, the South American giant otter, Pteronura brasiliensis, is the most highly modified for aquatic life. (Full text)

Geographical variation and distribution: Pteronura brasiliensis is strictly South American: the typical subspecies P. (Full text)

Since Peruvian giant otters are large mustelids they are probably susceptible to CDV and it is possible that this virus has been responsible for the extinction of the giant otter populations elsewhere in the Amazon Basin. (Full text)

Commonly known as: A Pteronura Brasiliensis is commonly known as either the Giant Otter or even a River Wolf and occasionally a Brazilian Otter. (Full text)

Like other otter species, Giant Otters are adept at (Full text)

Of the more than a dozen otter species in the world (all members of the Subfamily Lutrinae), the Giant Otter is the largest and rarest. (Full text)

The giant otter is endemic to South America. (Full text)

Giant otters are endangered throughout their range and the focus of this project is to address threats to otters by collecting information on their life histories, their ecological role and environmental variables. (Full text)

The Giant Otter is the most recognizable otter. (Full text)

Giant Otters are protected by right and law, but still they are getting killed. (Full text)

Family: Mustelidae SIZE: The Giant Otter is the largest otter. (Full text)

Giant Otter Skull - The Giant Otter, Pteronura brasiliensis is a piscivore. (Full text)

Inquisitive, formidable and endangered, giant otters are luring tourists by the thousands to Brazil's unspoiled, biodiverse waterscape (Full text)