Q: What is the taxonomy of otters ?
A: The following taxonomy is based on the classification of Corbet, G.B.
and J.E. Hill (1980. A world list of mammalian species. British Museum
and Cornell University Press.).
Order - Carnivora
Superfamily - Canoidea (Arctoidea)
Family - Mustelidae
Subfamily - Lutrinae
Genus - Lutra, Pteronura, Aonyx or Enhydra
Species - See individual species profiles
Q: Who are predators to otters ?
A: The otter is at the top of the food chain and is not the normal diet
of larger carnivores. The prime documented evidence of any predation is
from white sharks with Sea Otters and bald eagles with Sea Otter pups. Even
with these predators it is not a normal part of their diet. Recently it
has also been suggested that killer whales have eaten Sea Otters, but if
true it is not a typical part of the killer whales diet.
Otter cubs could also fall prey to predators such as jaguars or wolverines,
but given their mothers protection this is limited, if it happens at all.
Other threats to the otter (disease, survival until independence, hunting
for fur, habitat destruction, pollution) are much larger threats to the
otter than predators.
Q: How long do otters live ?
A: This is difficult to answer because in the wild a large number of the
population (as with any animal) dies before maturity. A 1977 study indicated,
for example, that only 27% of dead North American River Otters found were
older than 2 years. The IOSF considers 4 years in the wild "lucky" for Eurasian
Otters. Full potential life spans (for 2% of the population perhaps) can
reach 10 years with a record 23 years documented for one otter in captivity.
Q: Why should we help otters ?
A: The otter can be used as a symbol for the survival of wetlands, oceans
and waterways they inhabit. Over half of the otter species are listed in
the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals as vulnerable, endangered, or insufficiently
known. Their widespread distribution and public appeal due to their playful
behavior and attractiveness (other than their smell!) makes the otter an
ideal bio-indicator. As is typical of animals at the top of the food chain,
otters are among the first species to disappear when the environment is
pollute and congested. To quote the IUCN Otter Action Plan: "A world
without otters is a world without pristine streams, without unsilted rain-forest
rivers...without uncontaminated fish, crabs and aquatic life."
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