The Giant Otter: Evolution to

Extinction
By: Wesley Fink, Jake Hobson, Cooper Hochman, and Nico
Hadiaris
Big Questions
Big Question #1

● Why are all living things alike yet so different?

○ Millions of years of evolution, adaptation, and isolation

are why they are so different.

○ A common ancestor is why they’re so alike.

Big Question #2
● How did there come to be so much biodiversity on Earth and
how did all those organisms come to have so much in
common?
○ Mutations, Isolation, Non-random mating, Gene flow,
and natural selection
○ Common ancestors
Big Question #3
-How does life change over time?
-Evolution

-Mutations

-Adaptation
Fast Facts About The Giant Otter

● Lives in South America

● Average adult is 3´7 feet long

● Very rarely in captivity

● Only active during the day

Resources, Dependency,
and Evolution
Resources
- Food:
- Mainly fish including catfish
- Water:
- Needs water to drink and also to hunt in
- Plants
- Uses vegetation as shelter
Dependency on other animals
- They dependent on fish because that is their main food
source
- They also have no natural predator so no other animals are
dependent on them
Evolution
-evolved separately from other otters in south america

-behaviour, vocalizations, and skull shape are similar to the smooth-coated otter of
Asia

-Giant otter spilt away 10 million to 14 million year ago from regular otters
Reproduction and Why
We Need Biodiversity
Reproduction
-Each holt(group) of Giant Otters is led by a permanently bonded
alpha pair which are the ones that mainly reproduce
-Cub birth was timed for May, at the start of the dry season, when
fish are concentrated in shallow water so hunting is easy
-Unfortunately, disturbance by tourists can stress the mother so
much that her milk fails, and the cubs may starve
Why we need biodiversity

● Biodiversity offers food, harvests, silviculture, livestock

and fish
● Biodiversity is fundamentally important in medicine.
● Biodiversity is a source of richness also in the sector of
tourism and recreational activities.
How Humans Have
Affected The Giant Otter
Hunting
● Otter hunting is easy and profitable
○ Fur is dense making it good for clothing

● Almost went extinct in 1970 due to this

○ CITES in 1970 made giant otter hunting illegal

● Illegal hunting still occurs

 20,000
Number of Giant Otter pelts exported by Peru between 1950-1970
Habitat Loss and Prey Issue
● Humans have destroyed Giant Otter habitats
● Fish Issues
○ Overfishing by humans
○ Mercury poisoning
Tourists

● Unknowing tourists run over otters with boats

● Stress from tourists cause otters to produce less milk for their

young
The Future
Heading Toward Extinction

● Has been listed as endangered since 2000

● Population is decreasing

● Remaining population is spread thin

2,000-5,000
Number of Giant Otters left
Sources
http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/van_anim_otter.htm
http://eol.org/pages/328029/overview
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/18711/0
http://www.otterjoy.com/otterinfo/pteronura/brasiliensis/brasiliensis_breeding.html