Eurasian otter
Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758)
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is a mammal in the family Mustelidae and subfamily Lutrinae, within the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized carnivore with an adult body mass of 8.8 kg, and it is a terrestrial, cathemeral animal of coastal, forest, freshwater, riverine and wetland habitats.
Quick facts about the Eurasian otter
Gestation lasts 63 days, ranging from 61 to 74 days, with 1 litter per year of 2 young, and sexual maturity is reached at 1.5 years. The IUCN Red List classifies the Eurasian otter as Near Threatened in its global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 7.81 kg – 8.79 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 18.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 22 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastal, forest, freshwater, riverine, wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 61 days – 74 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.04 – 2.8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 18 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the Eurasian otter
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Where does the Eurasian otter live?
Not recorded
What is the Eurasian otter?
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. It is the most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of the weasel family (Mustelidae) and is found in the waterways and on the coasts of Europe, much of Asia, and parts of North Africa. The Eurasian otter eats mainly fish, and is strongly territorial. It is endangered in some parts of its range, but is recovering in others.
From the Wikipedia article “Eurasian otter” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eurasian_otter&oldid=1378348432), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the Eurasian otter endangered?
The Eurasian otter is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the Eurasian otter classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyMustelidae
- genusLutra
- SpeciesLutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Barangia nepalensis, Lustra vulgaris, Lutra angustifrons, Lutra aurobrunneus, Lutra chinensis, Lutra fluviatilis, Lutra hanensis, Lutra indica, Lutra japonica, Lutra kutab, Lutra lutra angustifrons, Lutra lutra aurobrunnea, Lutra lutra aurobrunneus, Lutra lutra barang, Lutra lutra ceylonica, Lutra lutra chinensis, Lutra lutra hainana, Lutra lutra kutab, Lutra lutra lutra, Lutra lutra lutra, Lutra lutra meridionalis, Lutra lutra monticola, Lutra lutra monticolus, Lutra lutra nair, Lutra lutra nippon, Lutra lutra oxiana, Lutra lutra piscatoria, Lutra lutra seistanica, Lutra lutra splendida, Lutra lutra whiteleyi, Lutra monticolus, Lutra nair, Lutra nippon, Lutra nudipes, Lutra piscatoria, Lutra roensis, Lutra sinensis, Lutra stejnegeri, Lutra vulgaris, Lutra vulgaris amurensis, Lutra vulgaris baicalensis, Lutra vulgaris kamtschatica, Lutra vulgaris marinus, Lutronectes whiteleyi, Mustela lutra, Mustela lutra piscatoria, Viverra lutra
Other names and names in other languages (156)
- Common otterEnglish
- Common otterEnglish
- Eurasiatic otterEnglish
- European otterEnglish
- European otterEnglish
- European river otterEnglish
- European river otterEnglish
- Old World otterEnglish
- Old World otterEnglish
- OtterEnglish
- エシャマンAinu
- ウォロ チロンヌㇷ゚Ainu
- قضاعة أوراسيةArabic
- قضاعة أوروبيةArabic
- LoiraAragonese
- উদAssamese
- LhóndrigaAsturian
- LlóndrigaAsturian
- Çay samuruAzerbaijani
- Adi susamuruAzerbaijani
- ВидраBulgarian
- vidrаBulgarian
- ভোঁদরBangla
- ཆུ་སྲམ།Tibetan
- Ki-dour EuraziaBreton
- Evropska vidraBosnian
- LLúdrigaCatalan
- Llúdria comunaCatalan
- ХаьштигChechen
- АмаMari
- Ахаль ӑтӑрChuvash
- Ахаль ăтăрChuvash
- ᓂᒋᒄCree
- vydra říčníCzech
- DwrgiWelsh
- dyfrgiWelsh
- DyfrgwnWelsh
- odderDanish
- Europæisk odderDanish
- FischotterGerman
- Eurasischer FischotterGerman
- ΒίδραGreek
- Ευρασιατική ΒίδραGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκή βίδραGreek
- Eŭropa lutroEsperanto
- nutriaSpanish
- Nutria ComúnSpanish
- Nutria europeaSpanish
- Nutria paleárticaSpanish
- Euroopa saarmasEstonian
- SaarmasEstonian
- Igaraba arruntBasque
- شنگ (جانور)Persian
- EuraasiansaukkoFinnish
- saukkoFinnish
- OturFaroese
- loutre communeFrench
- loutre d'EuropeFrench
- Loutre de RiviFrench
- Loutre de rivièreFrench
- Euraasisk FaskoterNorthern Frisian
- FiskotterWestern Frisian
- Jeropeeske otterWestern Frisian
- DobharchúIrish
- Dobhrán EoráiseachIrish
- dòbhranScottish Gaelic
- biast-dhubhScottish Gaelic
- biastan-dubhaScottish Gaelic
- dòbhrainScottish Gaelic
- LondraGalician
- לוטרהHebrew
- לוטרה אירופיתHebrew
- לוטרה מצויהHebrew
- ऊदबिलावHindi
- Europska vidraCroatian
- európai vidraHungarian
- УырдArmenian
- ՋրասամույրArmenian
- Berang-berang eurasiaIndonesian
- ᐸᒥᐅᖅᑑᖅInuktitut
- ХишкIngush
- Evrópski oturIcelandic
- lontraItalian
- lontra comuneItalian
- Lontra europeaItalian
- カワウソJapanese
- ユーラシアカワウソJapanese
- ヨーロッパカワウソJapanese
- წავიGeorgian
- Вәнтӑрkca
- КәмшатKazakh
- КәмшәтKazakh
- ҚұндызKazakh
- ನೀರುನಾಯಿKannada
- 수달Korean
- 유라시아수달Korean
- ВурдKomi-Permyak
- Миян вурдKomi-Permyak
- ЧувKomi
- КундузKyrgyz
- Europesen otterLimburgish
- paprastoji ūdraLithuanian
- Eiropas ūdrsLatvian
- Eirāzijas ūdrsLatvian
- КомаMari
- ВӱдкомаMari
- Европска видраMacedonian
- Голын халиуMongolian
- Memerang EropahMalay
- ВыдраErzya
- oterNorwegian Bokmål
- VisotterDutch
- Europese OtterDutch
- Europeisk oterNorwegian Nynorsk
- Loira europèaOccitan
- wydra zwyczajnaPolish
- wydra europejskaPolish
- Lontra-europeiaPortuguese
- LutrăRomanian
- Câine de râuRomanian
- VidrăRomanian
- Vidră de râuRomanian
- Vidră eurasiaticăRomanian
- Vidră euroasiaticăRomanian
- Vidră europeanăRomanian
- поречьRussian
- обыкновеннаяRussian
- поречняRussian
- порешняRussian
- Обыкновенная выдраRussian
- речная выдраRussian
- ДьуукунYakut
- čeavrrisNorthern Sami
- vydra riečnaSlovak
- Evrazijska vidraSlovenian
- kajkaAlbanian
- lundërzaAlbanian
- lundraAlbanian
- lunzaAlbanian
- vidraAlbanian
- utterSwedish
- Eurasisk utterSwedish
- КамаTatar
- Гади камаTatar
- นากใหญ่ภูเขาThai
- นากใหญ่ธรรมดาThai
- LuitiTurkish
- Avrasya Su SamuruTurkish
- Bayağı su samuruTurkish
- su samuruTurkish
- ВадUdmurt
- Видра річковаUkrainian
- SagarmVeps
- წვინარიMingrelian
- 歐亞水獺Chinese
- 歐亞水獺 (水獺)Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the Eurasian otter
Other species in the same genus Lutra.
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CompareEurasian otter vs Hairy-nosed otterEurasian otter vs Lutra fatimazohraeEurasian otter vs Lutra procovax
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the Eurasian otter?
The Eurasian otter is a mammal of the family Mustelidae, subfamily Lutrinae, in the order Carnivora.
How heavy is a Eurasian otter?
An adult Eurasian otter weighs 8.8 kg, which places it in the medium size class (1 to 25 kg).
What does the Eurasian otter eat?
The Eurasian otter is a carnivore.
What habitats does the Eurasian otter live in?
It lives in coastal, forest, freshwater, riverine and wetland habitats.
Is the Eurasian otter endangered?
No, it is listed as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a Eurasian otter live?
The Eurasian otter has a lifespan of 18.2 years, with values up to 22 years reported.
How many young does a Eurasian otter have?
It has 2 young per litter, up to 2.8, and 1 litter per year after a gestation of 63 days.
Who named the Eurasian otter?
The scientific name Lutra lutra is credited to Linnaeus, 1758, written as (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-otter
“Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-otter.
@misc{eurasian_otter_2026,
title = {Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-otter},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}