Your Top 5 Favorite Otters

Austin the Sengi

Austin the Sengi

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Serving as the official successor to the 2020 thread What is your favorite species of otter?; which was one of the first threads I ever posted on this site. This thread, like its predecessor, asks the simple question as to what your top five species of otters are*.

As usual, here’s my answer for reference; albeit, with no honorable mentions this time around when compared to the deer and antelopes I’ve listed in their respective threads:

  1. Spot-Necked Otter
  2. Asian Small-Clawed Otter
  3. Giant Otter
  4. Sea Otter
  5. North American River Otter

(*means that this will be subjected to change)

Now while a lot of us members have already shared their number one favorite species on the original thread. I’m curious as to how your opinions towards a certain otter species have changed since then. Therefore, I can’t wait to see if the Giant Otter remains as ZooChat’s favorite otter, or if another species will dethrone that title; we shall see! :D
 
I wasn't here for the first one, so good to share the otter top 5. One of my favourite animals. A zoo like New Forest wildlife park here is a real treat as they have four otter species in one place.

My top 5

1. Eurasian Otter - The UK's native otter and such an amazing thing to see in the wild as well as at the zoo. Comparatively few collections in the UK keep them which is a shame in terms of education about our native species. Some collections here are involved in rehabilitation and release though
2. Giant Otter - big in all respects. Super fun, particularly in a large family group as at YWP
3. Asian Small Clawed Otter - I am sure lots of people will find these too common to vote highly but I love their social behaviour and enjoy watching their family groups grow and evolve as at Whipsnade
4. Sea Otters - I've only seen these in America (I think only one collection here keeps them) but they were also great to see in the wild
5. Spotted Neck Otter - only seen in the wild in Zambia but it was a bit of a moment, so they have to make the list somewhere. Fairly uncommon in European collections I think but a charismatic animal

I'd also give a shout to Smooth Coated otters as they are always so much fun at Colchester.
 
This is a fun one. Otters in general were my favourite animals as a young child, and though I don't quite love them as much today they will always be one of my favourites. When I visited New Forest Wildlife Park for the first time in 2018, it became my third favourite zoo (after Paignton and Whipsnade) solely due to it having four otter species (plus a fifth that was offshow at the time).

1. Sea Otter: as a young child, this was my outright favourite species even though I hadn't seen one in person, purely due to a David Attenborough documentary which showcased their significance to kelp forests as the natural predator of sea urchins. Finally seeing them at Océanopolis Brest last year was amazing, especially having one attempt to play with my shoe through the glass! Probably up there with pangolin and walruses as one of my best ever zoo lifeticks.

2. Giant Otter: a bit boring having the two biggest otters as my top two, but they're both just so fun. I haven't seen them in ages though; my first encounter was at New Forest in 2018, then again at Longleat the next year, but since then I was just too early to see them at Beauval, they were no-shows at Chester and were offshow for enclosure repairs at Hagenbeck. I suspect all these misses will only make it better when I am one day reunited with the species.

3. Smooth-coated Otter: I love the fact that they really do live up to their names with gorgeously smooth, and therefore shiny, fur. It's also because of many fond memories of the particularly inquisitive individuals at Exmoor who always seem to be expecting food and make an endless noise.

4. Asian Short-clawed Otters: for myself and many other enthusiasts they are an unlucky victim of fatigue, having seen them so many times that we lose interest. But much like Ring-tailed Lemurs and Giraffes, every now and again, at my local or anywhere else, I have a little moment watching them play, dive and fight, where I once again appreciate what it is about them that made me adore the species so much as a child. Those are some of the zoo moments I cherish the most.

5. Eurasian Otter: this will always be a soft spot animal for myself due to my encounter with one in the wild, in the gardens of Hever Castle where I was initially terrified and convinced I'd just seen a monster. After realising it was an otter (at the time by far the most unusual species I'd seen wild) they became one of my favourite animals.

I've always found sea otters incredibly reminiscent of bears and giant otters of sea lions...
 
Lately I've been a busy beaver (or otter :D) and haven't had as much time to post (though I will be back eventually), but I had to pop in and vote on this topic!

1) Sea otter
2) Giant otter
3) Marine otter
4) Eurasian otter
5) North American river otter
 
SeaOtterHQ said:
Lately I've been a busy beaver (or otter :D) and haven't had as much time to post (though I will be back eventually), but I had to pop in and vote on this topic!

1) Sea otter
2) Giant otter
3) Marine otter
4) Eurasian otter
5) North American river otter
Click to expand...
These are my picks as well.
 
Feels a bit strange reviewing taxons that took millions of years to evolve, but here we go:

1. Sea otter by far. I'm addicted to cute sea otter videos. I've only seen one briefly at Notojima aquarium (old female 'Rasuka', there were too many people at the glass for me to really get a good look) but I hope to see them again in better conditions someday.
2. Eurasian otter. The classic one, who I feel tends to be a little bit overshadowed these days in zoos by their asiatic small-clawed counterpart.
3. Giant otter. Never seen but iconic. I like how scary they look, with their impressive size and powerful jaw. They seem to make a really great zoo animal with how active they are.
4. Smooth-coated otter. A really neat species, I fell in love with them on my recent visit to Dresden.
5. Sigh. Asiatic small-clawed otter.
 
1. Giant otter - I've always found them quite ugly, but they're actually very charming and funny animals. I'm not kidding when I say they've even made me cry out of laughter when watching them being fed in Zlín.
2. Sea otter - They're cute and cool at the same time. I like it.
3. Eurasian otter - You know, the only species I've seen in the wild.
4. Congo clawless otter - They're just so unique! I like their "face masks".
5. Smooth-coated otter - Well, I blame Prague for this.
 
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