Neotropical otter

South American River Otter

The South American river otter ( Lontra longicaudis ) is a marten from the kind of lontra. It is common in South and Central America.

Description

The South American otter reaches a body length 36-66 cm, a tail length of 37-84 cm and a body weight of 5 to 15 kg. Adult males are 20-25 % larger than females. The coat color is uniform dark brown, throat and neck are gray. The head is relatively large and wide. The feet carry webbed.

Area of ​​distribution and habitat

The distribution area of the South American otter covers large parts of tropical South and Central America. He essentially lacks in the Andean region. They prefer fast -flowing streams in rainforest and dry forest areas. They avoid very murky, muddy waters

Subspecies

The following are the subspecies of the South American river otter:

  • Lontra longicaudis longicaudis: Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, southern Brazil, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay
  • Lontra longicaudis annectens: Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, and Venezuela
  • Lontra longicaudis enudris: Northeast Brazil, Guyana and Trinidad

Lifestyle and diet

South American otters are primarily diurnal. In areas with intense human activity, they will shift their rhythm of life sometimes in the night hours. As long as they are active, you will find these excellent swimmers and divers rarely out of the water. They are looking at usually underground structures near water or high grass stocks to rest. The main food of this otter consists of fish. In addition, the animals eat crustaceans, mollusks, small mammals, birds, reptiles and insects. South American otters are solitary. Apart from the mating and breeding season you can see the animals rarely in the company of other dogs.

Reproduction

Most pairings will be held in the spring, but there are many regions no fixed mating seasons. The gestation period is 56-86 days. Usually two to three, sometimes one to five blind but fully haired boy come into the world. These are brought into the world under tree stumps or self-dug burrows in nests of grass and foliage. The females take care of their young alone. This open their eyes after about 44 days and begin after about 52 days to leave the building. After about 74 days the first time they go into the water.

Stock

As the South American river otter is found in very remote regions, inventory ratios are hardly known. The IUCN is the status of Data Deficient is therefore with ( not enough data). The biggest threat is probably the most hunted for their fur, and general water pollution dar. South American otters are sometimes kept in captivity and trained to fish for hunting.

Used literature

  • Lariviere, S. & Jennings, A. P. ( 2009). Family Mustelidae ( Weasels and Relatives ). In: Wilson, D. E., Mitter Meier, R. A., (ed.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009. ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1
Genus
528638
de