Giant Otters
A Giant Otter family became our daily companions for up to an hour. They vie for first place in my Pantanal favorite moments. We sat, usually the only boat in the area, and watched the adults and older juveniles return from hunting for food. They approached their holt each day, cautiously looked around, and one or two adults ascended into it. The adult would emerge again, look both ways many times, and then lead the parade of babies (5 of them!) down to the water to play and swim for about 15 minutes. The adults groomed the babies, gnawing at them gently, and the babies seem to enjoy it. They cavorted, the best word to describe it, and we sat and watched. What a keen pleasure! Especially so as these animals have been hunted to near-extinction and only a few thousand remain.
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