Giant Otters are found throughout the tropical
rainforest of the Amazon down to Brazil’s Panatela. Today they are
found only in remote waters in tropical South America. They swim in streams
and shallow creeks. They sometimes live in-groups in groups up to 10-20.
When the waters recede from floods, they feed on to the fish trapped from
the flood. They may consume up to ten pounds of fish a day. They feed primarily
on Piranhas and small Cat Fish. They spend most of their day in the water
rather than on land.
They may grow up to six feet from head to
tail. The tail alone can be up to 26 inches long. The Giant
Otter can weight almost 70 pounds. Their long course guard hair keeps
them warm while diving in the water to catch their prey. Its large
flat feet make them poor walkers on land. They have webbing between
their toes to help them swim in the water. Their eyes and ears close
while they are swimming. Also, they are a member of the weasel family.
They have one to four babies that are called kits. Their life span
in the wild is up to 12 years.
The Giant Otter’s only real predator
is man. Man hunts them for their luxurious fur. One fur is
worth more than a year’s annual wage for a local resident. Due to
the reduction of their habitat the numbers have dropped to only 2,000-5,000
alive today.
