Long-term monitoring of giant otters on the upper Essequibo
Nine years of sightings along 62 km of river, and what they say about group size and territory.
D. RamkarranForest Dispatch
Giant otters on the upper Essequibo, surveyed every dry season.
Giant otter groups have been recorded along 62 km of the upper Essequibo every dry season since 2017, making this one of the longest running monitoring efforts in the Guiana Shield.
Group size has stayed between four and nine animals. Territory boundaries shift by a few kilometres each year but remain anchored to the same lake systems.
The main pressure is not hunting but fish depletion near settlements, which appears to push groups further upstream each season.
Field notes, camera-trap findings and the arguments behind them. Written by the same reporters you read here. No breaking-news churn, no sponsored posts.
