Social Behaviour of the Hairy-Nosed Otter

This is taken from Wright et al (2008)

Territory

Nothing is known about this. 

Holt

Again, little is known, but what evidence there is suggests that they do not build underground burrows, but use dense vegetation to build some kind of nest on higher ground. This would make sense in the flooded forest habitat in which they live.

Daily Activity

It seems that on the whole, these animals are active between 6am and 7am in the morning and again between 4pm and 5pm in the evening. In Thailand, the evening session is from midnight until the early hours of the morning. Activity schedule may be affected by human activity as all extant populations face pressure from human encroachment.

Sociability

Very little is known about this. In various locations, otters have been seen singly or in twos, or groups of up to five. The composition of the groups are unknown - they may be families, or pairs, or the animals might be solitary outside the breeding season. When two were caught in a trap, an eye witness saw another trying to free them. They are easily tamed, especially as juveniles, and were formerly used for fishing. The only adult in captivity is extremely tame. This may indicate that they are more social than Lutra lutra, which is notoriously solitary unless a female has cubs with her.

Hairy-Nosed Otter