---
title: "African Clawless Otter"
description: "Lutra capensis — Mamíferos. The African clawless otter (Lutra capensis), also known as the Cape clawless otter or groot otter, is the second-largest freshwater otter species."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/african-clawless-otter
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# African Clawless Otter

> Lutra capensis — Mamíferos. The African clawless otter (Lutra capensis), also known as the Cape clawless otter or groot otter, is the second-largest freshwater otter species.

- Scientific name: *Lutra capensis*
- Category: `mammals` (Mamíferos)
- Habitats: `forest` (Floresta), `freshwater` (Lagos e rios)
- iNaturalist observations: 1648
- iNaturalist taxon: [1638841](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1638841)

## Names

- en: African Clawless Otter
- de: Fingerotter
- es: Nutria del Cabo
- fr: Loutre à joues blanches

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (1054), NA (14), ZM (9), MZ (8), GM (7), TZ (7), ZW (6), KE (5), BW (3), CI (3), MW (3), SN (3)

## Summary

The African clawless otter (Lutra capensis), also known as the Cape clawless otter or groot otter, is the second-largest freshwater otter species. It inhabits permanent water bodies in savannah and lowland forest areas through most of sub-Saharan Africa. It is characterised by partly webbed and clawless feet, from which their name is derived. The word 'aonyx' means clawless, derived from the prefix a- ("without") and onyx ("claw/hoof").

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

## Photo

![African Clawless Otter](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/african-clawless-otter/medium.jpg)

Photo: Dave Brown · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/49312664

## Machine access

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