ENDANGERED SPECIES - GIANT OTTERID92920065
COIN A.P.E. GIANT OTTER
For the year 2022, being aware of the importance of conserving the integrity and diversity of nature by ensuring the equitable and sustainable use of natural resources, the FNMT-RCM is issuing a collection of 16 coins dedicated to a selection of endangered animals catalogued as Critically Endangered (CR) and included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The complete collection consists of sixteen coins, issued in the year 2022, and an album-case in which to store them in an orderly fashion.
On the obverse, in a central circular area, an image of a giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is reproduced in colour. At the top, in a circular shape and in capital letters, the legend NUTRIA GIGANTE. At the bottom, in a circular shape and in capitals, the legend ESPAÑA (SPAIN) and the year of issue 2022.
On the reverse (common to all the coins), within a central circle, the legend ANIMALS IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION appears at the top, in a circular shape and in capitals; below it, the value of the coin 1.5 EURO, in two lines and in capitals; and, below it, the mint mark.
| Series | Endangered Species |
| Year | 2022 |
| Colour | Yes |
| Diameter (mm) | 33 |
| Face Value (Euro) | 1.5 |
| Metal | Cupronickel |
| Weight (g) | 15 |
| Maximum Mintage (units) | 5,000 |
Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)
The giant otter, also known in some areas as the river otter or ariraí, is classified as an endangered species by the IUCN, and included in its Red List of Threatened Species, largely due to the massive hunting it was subjected to in the 1950s-1960s for its fur, leading to its near extinction.
It is the largest otter in the world, weighing between 20 and 50 kg and measuring up to 2 metres in length. It lives exclusively in South America, in the river systems of the Amazon, Orinoco and Rio de la Plata. This large mustelid is a gregarious animal, unlike other otter species, and lives in groups of 5 to 10 individuals. It is a very territorial animal, whose vital space it will defend with great aggressiveness; its strength and size make it one of the great predators of the Amazon, together with the jaguar, practically its only natural predator, but which in groups can be confronted and even killed.
Their fur is waterproof and water-resistant, their legs are webbed, they have nostrils that close when submerged and whiskers for detecting prey underwater. These characteristics mean that these otters live a mainly aquatic life - although they do step on land to give birth to their young - so this carnivorous mammal feeds mainly on fish.
The progressive and continuous disappearance of their habitat, the pollution of the waters of the rivers in which they live, the still existing poaching for their fur, and even their death at the hands of fishermen who consider them competition for fish, mean that only a few thousand giant otters live in the wild.