---
title: "Giant Otter"
description: "Pteronura brasiliensis — Mammals. The giant otter or giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is a South American carnivorous mammal."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/giant-otter
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Giant Otter

> Pteronura brasiliensis — Mammals. The giant otter or giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is a South American carnivorous mammal.

- Scientific name: *Pteronura brasiliensis*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers), `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 2249
- Wikidata: [Q83774](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83774)
- iNaturalist taxon: [41845](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41845)

## Names

- en: Giant Otter
- de: Riesenotter
- es: Arirai
- fr: Loutre Géante
- nl: Braziliaanse reuzenotter
- pt: Ariranha
- pl: Arirania

## Countries with the most observations

BR (1122), PE (399), EC (186), CO (62), GY (58), GF (54), SR (32), BO (24), VE (12), PY (7), AR (3)

## Summary

The giant otter or giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, reaching up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in). Atypical of mustelids, the giant otter is a social species, with family groups typically supporting three to eight members. The groups are centered on a dominant breeding pair and are extremely cohesive and cooperative. Although generally peaceful, the species is territorial, and aggression has been observed between groups. The giant otter is diurnal, being active exclusively during daylight hours. It is the noisiest otter…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_otter

## Photo

![Giant Otter](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/giant-otter/medium.jpg)

Photo: Manuel Roncal · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/341719496

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/giant-otter?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).