Spot-Necked Otter eating fish
Spot-Necked Otter eating fish
IUCN OSG - Lutra maculicollis
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Description
This medium-sized otter is around 1.1m long and weighs about 6kg. The fur can be very variable in colour but is usually dark brown, with distinctive spots and streaks of paler colour on the throat and neck. The paws are fully webbed, with well-developed claws, but the teeth are rather small. It is long and sleek, and more aquatic than the other African otters. The teeth are specialised for catching fish, rather than the broad, crustacean-crushing molars of the clawless otters, although in less fish-rich parts of the range, fish, crabs and frogs form the diet in roughly equal proportions.
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