Asian short-clawed otter

Theme area:  El cañon de las aves
Scientific name:  Aonyx cinereus
Class:  Mammals
Continent:  Asia
Habitat:  Rivers, swamps, marshes and lakes
Diet:  Carnivore
Weight:  2 - 5 kg
Size:  40 - 65 cm
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A skilled aquatic hunter

It is found in coastal regions from southern India to the Malay Peninsula and southern China.

It is the smallest and least aquatic otter species in existence. Its body is flexible enough to allow grooming of almost the entire body. It has 5 toes on each leg, joined by an interdigital membrane that benefits it for swimming. It is very dexterous manually and uses its front legs to feel mollusks and crustaceans in rocks, vegetation and mud, instead of its mouth. Its teeth are also well prepared to chew through the hard shell of crustaceans

This otter lives in family groups of up to 20 individuals with an alpha breeding pair. Couples can have two litters of 1 to 6 offspring per year and gestation is approximately 60 days.

Their main threat is habitat destruction due to deforestation and agriculture 

Conservation status
Extinct
Extinct in the wild
Critically endangered
Endangered
Vulnerable
Near threatened
Least concern
Insufficient data
Not evaluated

DID YOU KNOW...

its crustacean-based diet is important for the ecosystem because it consumes invasive species of crabs?
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