Giant Otter

Pteronura brasillensis

I saw, and photographed, my first Giant Otter on the afternoon of Thursday, August 24, 2023.  Our Jeff Parker Tour Group was staying at Southwild’s Jaguar Flotel, and we spotted a Giant Otter during an afternoon boat cruise on one of the nearby rivers. 

Coincidentally, Southwild’s Flotel Naturalist, Xavier Tobin, gave an evening Science Lecture on the Giant Otter that same day.  Here are some of my note’s from Xavi’s lecture that evening:

– The Giant Otter is the largest otter species in the world
– Can grow to 6 feet in length, males weigh 51-71 lbs, females 49-57 lbs
– Their tails are used for propulsion, and they have large webbed feet
– Large eyes, good sense of smell, uses whiskers that fan out in front of the face to
feel the surrounding enviornment; dense fur, large teeth for eating fish
– Eat one tenth of their body weight each day
– Very vocal, 22 distinct sounds
– Engage in mutual grooming
– Dominant Breeding Pair rules the group, which includes 3 to 12 pups
– Large family groups are more successful in breeding (ie, protection)
– Can be identified by throat patterns
– Keep multiple dens, and each den has a latrine nearby
– Pups:  gestation 64 to 77 days, nurse 8 to 9 months
– Life Span:  up to 8 years in the wild, up to 17 years in captivity
– Estimated to be 3,000 of them in the Pantanal
– The Jaguar is their primary predator
– The Giant Otter is an endangered species, but is doing well in the Pantanal

During my time staying on the Jaguar Flotel in the Pantanal, I saw quite a few Giant Otters.  Sometimes they were fishing, sometimes they appeared to be playing.  In either case, they were noisy and conspicuous, and fairly easy to observe and photograph.  Below are a few of my photographs of the Giant Otter.  This first set is from the afternoon of August 25, 2023, when we spent several hours watching two separate groups of Giant Otters fish and eat, then return to their den.