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Giant otter

Screen Shot 2016-02-13 at 14.27.18Giant otters are the largest otters in the world and live in the Amazon and parts of Peru.

They can weigh 55kg and be 2m long, the biggest otter in the world.

Their prey consists of fish such as piranhas and catfish, but when they work as a team they can kill anacondas 5m in length.  They are very protective of their young and they shall viciously attack and sometimes even kill black caimans.  But one predator that is hard to fight off is the jaguar, which can kill a black caiman itself.  They have the biggest bite of any big cat and could easily kill an adult otter if they had the chance.  Even though the cat can swim, the otters can outswim jaguars.

These large mustelids use high pitched yells and shrieks to communicate.

Giant otters are classed as endangered as their forested habitat is disappearing quickly and people are increasing their range in the Amazon.

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