Giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis).
Image: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At a glance
- IUCN category
- EN · Endangered
- Animal group
- Mammals
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Matches source — IUCN's 2023 global assessment of Pteronura brasiliensis says EndangeredChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment
Conservation overview
The giant otter is the largest otter in the world, a social river predator of tropical South America. It is assessed as Endangered.
Family groups are noisy and conspicuous, fishing together in rivers and oxbow lakes of the Amazon and Pantanal.
Range & habitat
Rivers and wetlands of tropical South America, centred on the Amazon basin and the Pantanal.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Habitat degradation and deforestation
- Historical hunting for pelts
- Pollution including mining-related mercury
Why it matters
As a top predator of South American waterways, the giant otter reflects the health of those freshwater systems.
Gallery
A giant otter feeding — Endangered in the wild.
Image: Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
Sources for Giant Otter
- IUCN Red List — look up Giant Otter (authoritative status)
- Animal Diversity Web