One of the 8 otters on WAnimals
Mammals · Carnivora · Mustelidae
Pteronura brasiliensis
At very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.
The largest otter species in the world, it lives in very noisy family groups along Amazonian rivers and lakes.
Weight
22 kg – 32 kg
Size
1.5 m – 1.8 m
Life expectancy
12 years
Diet
Piscivore
Feeds mainly on fish.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Family group
Lives in small family groups with close bonds.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Estimated population
Between 2,000 and 5,000 animals in the wild, in highly fragmented and mostly small subpopulations; extinct or almost extinct in Uruguay and Argentina and reduced to a single subpopulation in Paraguay
AI-generated images: illustrations, not photographs.
Sources consulted: Animalia.bio; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); PMC (demography Manu National Park study); Animal Diversity Web; IUCN Red List 2023 (e.T18711A244867206), En peligro bajo los criterios A2cde+3ce; la propuesta de la CMS de 2026 cifra en un 50 % el declive de los últimos 25 años || IUCN Red List, evaluación de Pteronura brasiliensis de 2023; IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group
Best time: June to October
The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 10 of 21.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Giant Otter — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
The giant otter is classified as endangered. Organisations such as Projeto Ariranhas (Giant Otter Project) work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programmes is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 10 protected areas — one reason why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Based on what we already know about giant otter.
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