Giant river otter

Giant river otter

Giant river otter is a carnivore . It lives in south America. He eats fishes like piranha . It has many enemies like caiman .

Taxonomy and evolution

 In the former, investigation has shown thinly distributed population remnants. P. b. paraguensis is supposedly smaller and more gregarious, with different dentition and skull morphology. Carter and Rosas, however, rejected the subspecific division in 1997, noting the classification had only been validated once, in 1968, and the P. b. paraguensis type specimen was very similar to P. b. brasiliensis.

Biology and behavior

Early reports of skins and living animals suggested exceptionally large males of up to 2.4 m (7.9 ft); intensive hunting likely reduced the occurrence of such massive specimens. Weights are between 26 and 32 kg (57 and 71 lb) for males and 22 and 26 kg (49 and 57 lb) for females.

Ecology

Areas adjacent to rivers are used for the construction dens, campsites, and latrines. Giant otters clear significant amounts of vegetation in constructing their campsites. One report suggests maximum areas 28 m (92 ft) long and 15 m (49 ft) wide, well-marked by scent glands, urine, and feces to signal territory.

Distribution and population

While still present in a number of north-central countries, giant otter populations are under considerable stress. The IUCN lists Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela as current range countries. Given local extinctions, the species' range has become discontinuous.Total population numbers are difficult to estimate. An IUCN study in 2006 suggested 1,000 to 5,000 otters remain. Populations in Bolivia were once widespread but the country became a "black spot" on distribution maps after poaching between the 1940s and 1970s; a relatively healthy, but still small, population of 350 was estimated in the country in 2002.

PREY AND ENEMIES

prey

enemies

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