

Measuring up to six feet from nose to the tip of it's long paddle-like tail, the giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is the top dog of the flooded "varzea" forests. Today, the critically endangered giant otter thrives only in the most protected areas of the Amazon, Orinoco and La Plata river systems of South American. Photographed in Yasuni National Park & UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador.
Read my blog entry for the back story on this encounter!