Giant Otter - Basics!

Giant Otter

(Pteronura brasiliensis)

The posts this week are brief overviews of EACH of the otter species, 

focusing on recent information about each species and a vid or 2... 

The Giant Otter is the largest (lengthwise) and oldest (evolutionarily) otter living today.

From nose to tail, Giant Otters can be up to 6ft long! Their tails are flattened and flanged, and very strong. Their ears are comparably small, and their eyes very large.  Giant Otters are at the top of their food chain. They eat fish, small caiman (basically alligators), crustaceans, snakes, and birds. Giant Otters are incredibly sociable, and often hunt in groups. They live in family groups of ten or more, sometimes up to twenty otters!

Status: Endangered and Decreasing


The Giant otter range (the area in which the Giant Otter lives) is the central area of South America, especially around the Amazon River Basin and the Pantanal Region.

There are loads of great YouTube videos of Giant Otters out there, but here are a few that we really enjoyed...

Giant Otter hunting...

Giant Otters and a Caiman...

Giant Otter pups at the Los Angeles Zoo

If you want more in-depth reading a few research articles you could explore on these otters includes:

>   Genetic diversity and population structure in the endangered giant otter, Pteronura brasiliensis

RSA Pickles, JJ Groombridge, VDZ Rojas… - … Genetics, 2012 - Springer

>   Conservation genetics of the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis (Zimmerman, 1780))(Carnivora, Mustelidae),DM Garcia, M Marmontel, FW Rosas… - Brazilian Journal of …, 2007 - SciELO Brasil
>   Social organization and territoriality of giant otters (Carnivora: Mustelidae) in a seasonally flooded savanna in Brazil,C Leuchtenberger, G Mourão - Sociobiology, 2008 -

Asian Small-Clawed Otters at Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle

On June 11, 2013, four pups were born to the new pair of Asian small-clawed otters at Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle. The 8 year old male and 4 year old female are first time parents.


^ This is borrowed video! This video is embedded from YouTube, Produced by Ryan Hawk, posted June 20, 2013.

Asian small-clawed otters have been listed on the "vulnerable" list since 2008, with population estimates generally thought to be at 5,000 or fewer. The greatest threat to this species is poaching and water quality degradation (pollution).

The pups will have to pass their "swim test" before they are released with their parents into their new enclosure at Woodland Park Zoo.

More information about Asian small-clawed otters is available at OtterQuest!

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News: Asian Small-clawed Otter Arrives at Woodland Park Zoo

The male of a pair of Asian short-clawed otters has arrived at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo from Zoo Atlanta. The 7 year old male will be joined by a 3 year old female from the Bronx Zoo, and after quarantine and exam will begin adjusting to their new exhibit in "Asian Tropical Forest".

The otter exhibit is expected to open in May 2013. 

Woodland Park Zoo press announcement.