Jeanette's Wild World of Nature: Mustelids

[Jeanette X]

Giant Otter. (Pteronura brasiliensis)
The giant otter lives in South America. Although once abundant, habitat loss and hunting for it's pelt have made it endangered. They are social animals, living in familial groups of about ten and taking turns with child-rearing duties. They are the largest of the otters, being up to six feet long. They are a powerful predator, and although they mainly eat fish and other aquatic creatures, they are capable of killing even anacondas.

Congo Clawless Otter (Aonyx congica)
Virtually nothing is known about this otter. It lives in Africa, and is very similair to the Cape clawless otter.

Eurasian River Otter (Lutra lutra)
The Eurasian river otter is found in Europe, the Arctic Circle, northern Africa, and most of Asia. They inhabit all watery places, even the sea.
It is very playful, and uses over a dozen vocalizations to communicate.

[imported_Hollycaust]

Your thoughts on domesticating sea otters? :D

[Jeanette X]

Originally Posted by Hollycaust

Your thoughts on domesticating sea otters? :D

Sea otters belong in the sea.

Smooth Otters (Lutrogale perspicillata)
The smooth otter lives in southeast Asia, and are very playful.

Hairy-Nosed Otter Lutra sumatrana
The hairy-nosed otter lives in south Asia. Little is known about it, as it is very rare.

[Big Papa Goat]

The giant otter looked like my uncle. So fierce, yet so lovable. You should do a goat thread sometime.

[Jeanette X]

Originally Posted by Big Papa Goat

The giant otter looked like my uncle. So fierce, yet so lovable. You should do a goat thread sometime.

Next I'm doing a thread about earthworms, then Herpestids, then I'll get to goats.
I'm having a lot of trouble finding out what really are the proper Latin names of these otters. Every other site I visit seems to have a different variant. I guess they shuffled some of them into a new genus and nobody had updated their sites yet. To the best of my knowledge though, these are accurate. I'll edit this thread if I find out otherwise.

Marine Otter (Lontra Felina)
Please forgive the bad picture. It was the best I could find.
This otter is also known as a sea cat, even though it obviously isn't a feline. I don't know why people give animals such misleading names. It lives in Chile and Peru, is only found in the sea, and is generally quite solitary. Sometimes marine otters will fight each other for limited resources.

Neotropical Otter (Lutra longicaudis)
This otter lives in central and South America. It prefers streams and creeks over rivers.

Southern River Otter (Lontra provocax)
This species is found only in Chile and Argentina. It is critically endangered. I couldn't find much else about it.

North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis)
The North America river otter is found in Alaska, Canada, and most areas in the United States. They are very playful, frolicking in the mud and snow, and seem to have boundless energy. They also have a wide variety of vocalizations.

Well, thats it. Those are all the mustelids. Hope you enjoyed this thread.