Coastal otter
| Coastal otter | ||||||||||||
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Coastal otter ( Lontra felina ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lontra felina | ||||||||||||
| ( Molina , 1782) |
The coastal otter ( Lontra felina ), also known as the Chilean otter or Chungungo , is a rare marten belonging to the New World otter genus .
description
The coastal otter is the smallest South American otter. It reaches a head body length of around 53.3 to 78.7 cm, has a 30 to 36 cm long tail and can weigh 3.2 to 5.8 kg. The fur is dark brown on the top, gray on the neck and throat and beige-brown on the underside. The guide hairs that cover the short insulating fur have a grayish tone. The fur is coarser and more robust than that of the sea otter . The claw-reinforced front and rear paws have pronounced webbed feet. The skull is broad and flat. The lower jaw has eight pairs of teeth and the upper jaw has eight to nine pairs of teeth. The teeth are more adapted to cutting up food than to grinding it. There is no sexual dimorphism and the females have four teats.
Occurrence
Its previous distribution area included the Pacific coastal regions from southern Peru to Chile and the extreme south of Argentina, where its distribution reached the Atlantic coast. The largest population is now on the Chilean island of Chiloé . In Argentina it occurred from Tierra del Fuego to Cape Horn , where it has not been observed since 1968. An introduced population lives in the Falkland Islands .
Behavior and way of life
Besides the sea otter , the coastal otter is the only species of marten that lives by the sea. He prefers areas that are protected from the waves of the open sea. His hunting grounds are kelp and seaweed forests in coastal waters. It is diurnal and feeds mainly on fish, mollusks, crustaceans and other small animals. Every now and then birds, small mammals or fruit are also eaten. A study on the Chilean coast found that 69.8% of the diet of the local population consists of crabs and fish (19.9%), shrimp (6.4%) and mollusks (3.9%) a far smaller amount Share in his food. At Valdivia the otters eat 52% crustaceans, 40% fish and 8% mollusks. A total of 25 different animal species were part of their diet. When looking for food, the animals dive for a period of 6 to 64 seconds. Small prey are eaten in the water, larger ones are dragged ashore beforehand. The prey is transported in the mouth or on the stomach while the otters swim on their backs. Crabs are mainly caught on the beach. In contrast to the sea otter, it does not use stones to open mussels or other hard-shelled animals. On land you can only find it on stone coasts. He avoids sandy beaches. The otters are either solitary or occur in groups of up to three animals. It is not known whether they are territorial, but otters have been seen fighting.
Reproduction
The otter mates from December to January. After a gestation period of 60 to 65 days, two to four young are born in January, February or March. The young are born in rock caves that are above the water even at high tides and often have an entrance that is below the water level. The boys stay with their mother and enjoy parental care for almost ten months. You can then see them lying on their mother's stomach while she swims on her back. During this time, their parents provide them with food and teach them to hunt.
Danger
The sharp decline in coastal otter began at the beginning of the 20th century when 38,000 otter skins were exported from Chile for US $ 20 apiece between 1910 and 1954 . Today the overfishing of the crab and mollusc stocks as well as the water pollution endanger its existence. There are still an estimated 1,000 specimens of 200 to 300 in Peru today. Today the species is protected in Chile, Argentina and Peru. But that does not protect them from the pollution of the coastal seas and illegal hunting.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e Serge Larivière & Andrew P. Jennings: Family Mustelidae (Weasels and relatives). in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 1 Carnivores. Lynx Editions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 . Page 643.
- ↑ Lontra provocax in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2010. Posted by: Sepulveda, M., Franco, M., Medina, G., Fasola, L. & Alvarez, R., 2008. Accessed February 3, 2011th
Web links
- Lontra felina in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Medina-Vogel, 2008. Accessed on 24 February, 2009.
- Animal Diversity Web - Lontra felina
- Sea Cat Project Activities Report (English; PDF file; 1.04 MB)
- IOSF - The Marine otter (Lontra felina) (Engl.)
- Otterjoy - Marine Otter ( Memento of July 8, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (Engl.)