Distribution

The Giant Otter inhabits lakes, rivers, swamps and streams in tropical lowlands (sea-level to 600 m elevation) of South America to the east of the Andes in the Orinoco, Amazon and La Plata river basins. Once widespread, they are now extinct or very rare in some areas and their distribution is fragmented and reduced, especially in the southern part of their range; they are now extinct (or almost so) in Uruguay and Argentina, and are very rare in Paraguay. The largest populations remain in the Guyanan Shield, the Pantanal of Brazil and south-eastern Peru and adjacent areas of Brazil and Bolivia.