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African clawless otter - AONYX CAPENSIS
Possibly Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Otter": "Otter" comes from the Old English word "otor," for the animal.
Location: Central and southern Africa.
Habitat: Aquatic. Rivers in savanna and lowland forested areas where the current is slow-moving, and in pools formed by loops in rivers.
Description: The distinguishing features of this otter are that the feet are only partly webbed and clawless. The upper coat is a uniform brown; the underside is paler. The neck, throat, upper lip, and edges of the ears are white. The head and body are about three feet long with a tail of 20 inches. They weigh 30 to 50 pounds.
Behavior: Like all the otters, this species lives in close association with water, but it is sometimes found at a distance from water. It lives either alone or in pairs, and sometimes forms small groups. It feeds on anything it can find in the water, from fishes to waterfowl, and from succulent plants to molluscs. It is mainly active at night, but in wilder areas is active during the day as well. It is fond of sunning on rocks along riverbanks. For shelter or refuge it often uses burrows dug by other animals, in vegetation or along sandy riverbanks.
Reproduction: The female gives birth to two to five young in the spring, after a gestation period of about two months.
Go to the Carnivore Page to learn more about all the meat-eating animals.
Or go to the Otter Index to study other
otters.
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