Playful Giant River Otters around a fallen tree. As we made our way along the Piquiri River in Brazil’s Northern Pantanal we came across this family group of Giant River otters swimming in and around a tree that had fallen in the river.. They were interacting with each other, playing and one had an old large fish vertebra with which it enjoyed fooling around. Watching playful Giant River Otters is always a special treat.
Giant River Otters are big! They grow up to 1.8m in length and can weigh 35kg. Sleek and muscular, they are very impressive predators easily catching fish. They are highly social animals living in family groups. They can be very aggressive to neighbouring Giant River Otter families. These striking animals are also highly vocal.
The Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wet land and flooded grasslands. Whilst mostly located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, it also extends into Mato Grosso and parts of Paraguay and Bolivia. It covers an area of up to 195,00 square kilometres (75,000 square miles) and some 80%of the floodplains are submerged during the rainy season. It is a remarkable place.
Key words: South America, Brazil, Pantanal, Northern, North, Porto Jofre, wetland, Brazilian, South American, wildlife, nature, animals, conservation, Otter, Otters, Giant, Giant River Otters, Piquiri, River, play, groom, feeding