Lontra provocax

The Chilean otter has a streamlined body, about 60 to 80 cm long, and can weigh up to 5 kg. The head is wide and slightly flat, the snout is short, and there are several short, hard whiskers in the center of the chin. The eyes are slightly protruding, the ears are short and round, and the nostrils and ear canals have valves to prevent water from entering. The tail is slender, gradually tapering from the base to the tip. The limbs are short, with webbed feet between the toes. The body hair is long and dense, brown or coffee-colored, with a silky luster; the undercoat is thick and soft. The back of the body is gray-brown, the chest and abdomen are gray-brown, and the throat and neck are grayish white. The fur color also changes seasonally, with a slightly reddish brown in summer.

Chilean otters live on the banks of rivers, lakes, coasts and nearby islands, never far from the water. Most of them live in caves, and their caves during the breeding season are mostly in the cracks of rocks on the shore or under the roots of trees. They usually have two entrances, one of which is underwater.

The Chilean otter (scientific name: Lontra provocax) is a semi-aquatic mammal.

The Chilean otter is nocturnal and is good at swimming and diving. It can stay underwater for 2 minutes at a time. They catch fish as fast as a cat catching a mouse. Before catching, they often lie in wait on rocks by the water. Once they find prey, they will quickly catch it. Otters love fishing. Even after they are full, they will continue to kill fish endlessly, which is a great harm to the fish farming industry. But the smart otters can become fishing experts serving fishermen after half a year of training.

Chilean otters like to chase schools of fish in waters with good permeability. They often wait for prey on rocks or rocks exposed in the water, relying on their keen vision, hearing, smell and agile swimming skills to find food. They mainly feed on fish, and also prey on crabs, frogs, snakes, waterfowl and various small animals.

The main food of otters is the inner bark of the taller and tenderer soft branches of deciduous trees such as willow, birch, poplar, and small-leaved poplar. They do not climb trees, but use their front teeth to chew down small trees and then eat them. A pair of adult otters can chew down a tree with a diameter of 10 cm in a quarter of an hour. Otters have webbed feet between their hind toes, and their wide and flat tails serve as rudders, making them good swimmers. Otters are amphibious animals. They store food in water, build dams between water and land to intercept water into pools, and dig holes to build nests. One end of their nest opens on the river bank, and the other end opens in the woods, with a spacious hiding place in between. They stay in their nests or in the bushes on the shore during the day and come out at night. Otters catch fish in deep water and drag them to shallow water to eat. They also eat crabs. When an otter encounters danger, it dives into the water and can stay underwater for 5-15 minutes with the oxygen stored in its body. When diving into the water, its ears and nose are closed, and its eyes are protected by a transparent film. The otter has a streamlined body and its fur is waterproof.

In nature, Chilean otters do not have a fixed breeding season and mate all year round. Many hunters believe that Chilean otters are mostly in estrus in spring and summer. They can reproduce twice a year, usually with two cubs per litter. It is rare to have one or three cubs per litter. Under artificial breeding conditions, they can only reproduce when they are over one year old. The time of estrus varies depending on the place of origin. In the north, they are in estrus from February to April every year; Chilean otters in the south can be in estrus twice a year, from March to May and from September to early November, and the estrus lasts for 15-30 days. The female otter in estrus has a decreased appetite, is restless, screams loudly, chases each other, and bites each other's fur. The female otter's vaginal opening is red and swollen, and the male otter's testicles are protruding. Mating usually takes place in the water, in the early morning or evening. Before mating, the male and female otters chase and play in the water, making "squeaks" and intermittent sharp whistles, then the female otter's head lies flat on the water surface, and the hindquarters sink slightly. The male otter quickly climbs onto the female otter's back, holds her head in his mouth, and completes mating while swimming. The mating time is 5-10 minutes. The longest time is no more than 30 minutes. When the climate is -12℃-6℃, mating can also be carried out on land.

After the female Chilean otter becomes pregnant, it will no longer be fertilized. The gestation period is 54-58 days. The range is 52-71 days. The fertilized egg has a free period. After 30 days of pregnancy, the appetite increases, the amount of exercise decreases, and the abdomen swells slightly. Before giving birth, the otter lies in a small room and does not come out, and takes grass to make a nest, and the temperament becomes fierce. In the late pregnancy of the female Chilean otter, a birthing box should be set up for it, and soft hay should be placed in the box for its nest. The time of birth of Chilean otters varies from region to region. In northern Chile, they give birth in spring and summer, in most areas in April and May, in the Volga River Basin in June and July, and in some areas in late autumn, and only one litter is born each year. In low-latitude areas, there is no fixed season for otter birth. Each litter has 1-5 pups, but two pups are more common.

Newborn Chilean otters weigh about 54 grams, are 14.5 cm long, and are covered with milky white or light gray fetal hair. Close your eyes, turn silver gray after 3 days, and turn smoky gray after 7 days. Eyes open at 28-31 days old. Weaned at around 50 days old. After weaning, young otters can follow their mother out of the den and crawl slowly. At 2 months old, the mother often leads the young otters to the water's edge, lures them into the water, or takes them into shallow water and forces them to swim. Sometimes, the young otters swim in the water with their mothers on their backs, while the young otters practice by holding the mothers' necks. After a week, they can swim and catch fish on their own. After three months, they can live completely independently and live separately. Young otters grow and develop rapidly. At 4 days old, they weigh 97 grams, are 16.5 cm long, and have a 6.7 cm tail. At 30 days old, they weigh 800-840 grams. At 116 days old, male otters weigh 2.25 kg and female otters weigh 2.0 kg.

Due to the pollution of the living environment of otters and the deterioration of water quality, the habitat and food source of otters have been destroyed. In places with serious pollution, otters will be directly poisoned to death. In places with less pollution, they will have low fertility and weak resistance to diseases. In addition, the fur of otters is shiny, extremely elastic, gorgeous in appearance, soft to the touch, tough in leather, thick in bottom velvet, almost not soaked by water, and has strong thermal insulation performance. It is a high-quality raw material for making expensive coats, collars, and hats, and has high economic value. In addition, its liver is considered a precious medicinal material, and otter hunters are relentless in pursuit, causing the number of otters to drop sharply. Excessive hunting. It is the biggest culprit for their extinction.

Listed in Appendix I, Appendix II and Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 2019 Edition Appendix I.

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