He found it hard to believe when he saw the animal emerge from the waves… The conservation director of the Rewilding Argentina foundation was surprised to come face to face with a giant otter in May 2021, reported The Guardian in a article published this Thursday and relayed by GEO.
While kayaking on the Bermejo River in El Impenetro National Park (Argentina), he had the privilege of observing a male of this species.
"The animal made a noise, an alarm sound that I know well," he said.
When the giant otter saw me, it lifted its upper body out of the water and I saw its white chest.”
A magical encounter since this animal had not been seen in the Bermejo River for 130 years.
"Watching them is incredibly entertaining: they never stop wiggling, like going in and out of the water," he enthused.
Threatened with extinction
According to the organization WWF, giant otters live in South America, where they are nicknamed "river wolf" and "water tiger".
These imposing beasts measure up to 1.70 m and weigh more than 30 kg.
The species nearly disappeared in the 1970s and is still threatened with extinction today.
This is why the association Rewilding Argentina wants to reintroduce giant otters in the country since 2018, especially in the wetlands of Iberà (northeast).
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