Marine otter

Lontra felina

Seem to eat crabs, molluscs, fish, and shrimp.

Shores of Peru, the entire coast of Chile, and extreme southern reaches of Argentina

The marine otter is a species of otter that is rare and poorly known. It has a certain exclusivity to salt water, which is from where it gets its name. It is adapted to swimming in the ocean, as its front and back paws are webbed, although it spends a lot of its time outside of the water. Marine otters are rare and are protected under Peruvian, Chilean, and Argentine law. In the past, they were extensively hunted both for their fur and due to perceived competition with fisheries. Hunting extirpated them from most of Argentina and the Falkland Islands. Poaching is still a problem, but one of unknown magnitude. It is unknown how many marine otters exist in the wild or what habitats should be preserved to encourage their recovery. Marine otters were listed under CITES Appendix I in 1976, and are listed as endangered by the U.S. Department of the Interior.