Isla Pan de Azúcar is off-shore the Pan de Azucar National Park. Humboldt penguins breed on this island. The island is part of the Pan de Azucar National Park and passengers are not allowed to land on the island. As well as the penguins and seals, we saw a couple of marine otters.
The marine otter (Lontra felina) is a rare and poorly known South American mammal of the weasel family (Mustelidae). The scientific name means "otter cat", and in Spanish, the marine otter is also often referred to as gato marino: "marine cat". The marine otter spends much of its time out of the water and rarely ventures into freshwater or estuarine habitats, unlike the almost fully aquatic sea otter (Enhydra lutris) of the northeast Pacific and most other otter species.
Marine otters are most often seen individually or in small groups of up to three. They are difficult to spot, swimming low in the water, exposing only their heads and backs. Marine otters have also been observed feeding cooperatively on large fish, but it is not known how common the practice is. The otters are diurnal, primarily active in the daytime. Marine otters may be monogamous or polygamous, and breeding occurs in December or January. Litters of two to five pups are born in January, February or March after a gestation period of 60 to 70 days. The pups remain with their mother for about 10 months of parental care, and can sometimes be seen on the mother's belly as she swims on her back, a practice similar to that of the sea otter. Parents bring food to the pups and teach them to hunt.
The photo I got of one of these little fellows floating on his bach was very difficult from a bouncing zodiac, where one had no idea where he would pop up next. It involved dozens of shots of empty water to get the one in the last space of th etable below.
Click on any thumbnail photo to get a larger picture
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