The largest of Otters, Giant Otter is at the top of the Brazilian Rainforest food chain. She swims in tight circles to create a whirlpool that sucks up Fish from the Amazon Riverbed. Giant Otter prefers Catfish which hide on bottoms of streams and lakes. When She is tired of eating Fish, Giant Otter hunts Snakes and Crocodiles. For a hearty meal, She kills either a Cayman or an Anaconda.
Besides Giant Otter’s great size (longer than a tall person), She is also distinguished by her boldly blotched throat and flattened tail. Because of Giant Otter’s distinctive characteristics that seem un-Otter-like, such as her size and tail, some people question whether Giant Otter is an Otter. However, Giant Otter has several distinctive Otter characteristics. For example, She likes to play and swim.
Giant Otter leads a small family of Otters called a holt. In her holt, She plays with her Husband and Pups. They socialize together, talking with each other by barks, twitters, chuckles, and other sounds. When Mother and Father Giant Otter go hunting, Older Brother and Sister Giant Otter baby-sit the Little Ones. Later, the whole Family rests together and groom each other.
Giant Otter demonstrates having a good family life. Like all good families, her family enjoys each other’s company. Study Giant Otter’s example to have a family life that you would want to come home to.
Conservation Note: Giant Otter is severely endangered. Visit Otternet to find out how to protect Her. Giant Otter is also called River Wolf and Brazilian Otter.
From Karanambu Trust: "One of the attractions of Karanambu over the years has been Diane’s work in hand-rearing young, abandoned Giant Otters (Pteronura Brasiliensis) and re-introducing them into the wild. In 1997, as a direct result of this work, and the realization that the delicate ecosystem of the Rupununi savannahs needed to be preserved in the face of increasing development, the McTurk family founded the Karanambu Trust. The Trust is dedicated to preserving the ecosystem and wildlife as well as the traditional lifestyle of the indigenous Amerindians through the promotion and sponsorship of scientific research and sustainable economic development." Visit the site at Karanambu Trust.
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Photo of Giant Otters copyrighted by Otternet.
Va. Carper