The Giant River Otter

Giant river otters can be found in the rivers of South America and in the Amazon rain forest. The giant river otter is the longest member of the weasel family, but its cousin, the sea otter, outweighs it. Giant river otters can grow up to 5.6 feet long and weigh up to 70 pounds. 

The giant otter looks peaceful, but can be a really tough creature when defending its territory. It can even scare away a bull shark using the power of the pack! Giant river otters are very social animals and live in groups of three to eight members. 

River otters can be very noisy! Their communication calls sound like a bellowing, kind of like a frog. The noise can also tell predators and other otters to "back off." Giant river otters have a paddle-like tail and large webbed paws to help them outswim predators. They have thick, chocolate brown fur and short, compact muzzles. Their long, sensitive whiskers help them find food. They create series of dens on land and mark their territory with smelling droppings - yuck!

The giant otter's favorite food is fish, especially piranhas and catfish. They also eat crabs, snakes, turtles and young caimans. Giant river otters hunt in the water by looking for prey and then diving down after it. When they finally catch something, their pose is like a cat running and jumping at the same time. 

Predators of giant river otters include bull sharks, jaguars, caimans and possibly jaguarundis. Giant river otters are a rare species and are currently endangered.

Cool Fact: The giant river otter is known by a handful of other names including water jaguar (ari'raña) in Portuguese, and river wolf (lobo de río) and water dog (perro de agua) in Spanish.