#0520 · 🦊 mammals

African Clawless Otter

🇳🇱 Kaapse otter ·Lutra capensis

NTnear threatened 🦊 Mammals 📍 outside Europe

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Paul Cools · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Regard · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © ed_wildlife · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Hector Bintanel · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © Roelof van der Breggen · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © markus lilje · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
7. South Cape DC, South Africa:© Sally Adam · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. Unnamed Road, Cape Peninsula, Cape Town, South Africa:© Gigi Laidler · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Murdock Valley, Cape Town, 7975, South Africa:© Callum Evans · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. Cape Peninsula, Cape Town, South Africa:© Callum Evans · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The African clawless otter ( Aonyx capensis ), also known as the Cape clawless otter or groot otter , is the second-largest freshwater otter species. It inhabits permanent water bodies in savannah and lowland forest areas through most of sub-Saharan Africa. It is characterised by partly webbed and clawless feet, from which their name is derived. The word 'aonyx' means clawless, derived from the prefix a- ("without") and onyx ("claw/hoof").

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 1,682iNaturalist observations
threat NTnear threatened

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).