The Enhydra Lutris or commonly known as the Sea Otter is a type of Otter usually found along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The Sea Otter is just one type of species of Otter; in total there are 13 different types of Otter species and 1 extinct species. These are the 5 most known species of Otter:
1. Pteronura brasiliensis also known as the ‘Giant Otter’ is, as the name suggests, the largest otter and can grow up to 2 meters. This species is also endangered because of poachers and changes to their natural environment. There is an estimated 5,000 left in the wild with around 60 in captivity.
2. Aonyx Capensis also known as the ‘African Clawless Otter’ this is the second largest freshwater species. Its defining features include: luxurious silky hair, lack of claws (hence the name) and it has a noticeably large head. The species is classified as near threatened due to it’s habitat is being destroyed by humans and it the population is expected to decline a whole 20% in the next 3 generations.
3. Lontra Canadensis known more commonly as the ‘Northern River Otter’ is a very long otter with extremely dense fur. It is unknown how many are in the wild but it is believed the amount is high enough for them not
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Lutra Lutra also known as the ‘European Otter’ has a distinctive white color in it’s brownish coat along the side of it. The European was once endangered in 1950 but is now only considered near threatened. This is because of the ban on poaching their pelts.
5. Japan’s Ministry of the Environment officially declared Lutra Lutra Whiteleyi or better known as the ‘Japanese River Otter’ extinct in the wild. Many searches have been conducted over the past years but the last sighting was still in 1979. The Japanese River Otter was a subspecies of the European Otter. It mostly ate shrimp and fish and could grow to be 1 meter long. It is thought the main reason for it’s extinction is due to overhunting, because it’s fur was considered very