Marine Otter Chungungo

While many flock to South America’s coastlines for whale watching, catching a rare glimpse of the marine otter is no less exciting. Known affectionately in Spanish by many names - chungungo, nutria del mar, el gato del mar (sea cat) - the lotrina felina is a South American otter species belonging to the mustelidae (weasel) family, and is a cousin to the larger European otter.

- Eduardo Sorensen

Diminutive in size (roughly 90 cm including tail), they are the smallest marine mammals in the world. Unlike other otters (including the sea otter, which sometimes frequents freshwater habitats), marine otters live exclusively in saltwater, making their homes around littoral, rocky shorelines. Their habitat stretches more than 5,000 km along coastal Chile, Argentina, and Peru, and with just an estimated 1-1.7 otters per kilometer, sigh