Otter Population by Country 2024

Otters include any member of the subfamily Lutrinae of carnivorous mammals, which contains 13 extant species. They belong to the Mustelidae family, which includes badgers, mink, weasels and wolverines. Otters are found throughout the world, although their exact distribution varies by species.

Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)

The Sea Otter is the only completely marine otter, which dives to catch its prey. Its diet consists primarily of shellfish such as abalone, clams and crabs, although it will also eat starfish and many other animals. The current distribution of the sea otter is as follows:

• Alaska: 100,000 – 150,000
• Russia: 18,000 – 20,000
• British Columbia, Canada: 8,000
• Southern USA: 2,400

Their natural habitat is arc around the northern Pacific Ocean, including Japan, the Russian Kamchatka peninsula, Alaska, the Baja California peninsula and Mexico. Their total population was once as high as 300,000, but they rendered nearly extinct in the 19th century due to their highly-prized fur. Conservation efforts since then have largely restored their population, although they’re now primarily restricted to Alaska.

Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)

The giant otter is the largest species of otter, reaching a length of close to six feet. They once populated the entire Amazon rainforest and as far south as the Pantanal wetlands in Brazil. However, hunting for their fur combined with habitat loss has restricted their habitat to the most remote areas of the Amazon. Current estimates of their population place the total number of giant otters in the wild at between 2,000 and 5,000, mostly in Brazil. Surrounding countries like Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela also contain isolated populations of giant otters.

Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra)

The Eurasian otter is also known by other names like the common otter, European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter and Old World otter. It’s primarily found in Europe, but isolated populations also exist in certain parts of Asia and northern Africa. This species’ conservation status is currently classified as Near Threatened (NT), but its population is declining. The Eurasian otter is the most widely distributed otter, although its overall population hasn’t been well studied. The country with the largest number of these otters is probably Belarus, with an estimated population 12,000 as of 2004. The United Kingdom had about 10,000, and other countries like Sweden are believed to have no more than 1,000 Eurasian otters in the wild.