---
title: "Southern River Otter"
description: "Lontra provocax — Mammals. The southern river otter (Lontra provocax), or South American river otter, is an otter species that lives in much of Patagonia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/southern-river-otter
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Southern River Otter

> Lontra provocax — Mammals. The southern river otter (Lontra provocax), or South American river otter, is an otter species that lives in much of Patagonia.

- Scientific name: *Lontra provocax*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 208
- Wikidata: [Q840714](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q840714)
- iNaturalist taxon: [41779](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41779)

## Names

- en: Southern River Otter
- de: Südlicher Flussotter
- es: Lobito Patagonico
- fr: Loutre Du Chili
- nl: Zuidelijke rivierotter

## Countries with the most observations

CL (159), AR (12)

## Summary

The southern river otter (Lontra provocax), or South American river otter, is an otter species that lives in much of Patagonia. It is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as an endangered species.

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

## Photo

![Southern River Otter](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/southern-river-otter/medium.jpg)

Photo: Rolando Díaz Fuentes · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/129861389

## Machine access

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