However, it is estimated that there is between 1000 and 5000 Giant Otters remaining left in the wild today, which makes these beautiful and charismatic animals vulnerable to extinction. But they can, and do kill prey which your regular Otter wouldn’t. Although the Giant Otter population did recover, Giant Otters are today classed as an endangered species. Directed by Adam Woodward. On October 31, 2012, Dr. Thomas Lovejoy was awarded the Blue Planet Prize for being “the first scientist to academically clarify how humans are causing habitat fragmentation and pushing biological diversity towards crisis.” He has served on the Board of Directors since 2009 for the Amazon Conservation Association, whose mission is to conserve the biological diversity of the Amazon. Dr. Silman is a Professor of Biology. In 2018 she co-launched Better Without Mercury / Mejor Sin Mercurio, a mercury cleanup and site restoration project at the Gualconda gold mine in Colombia with the mine manager, Rolberto Alvarez. In 2001, Lovejoy was the recipient of the University of Southern California’s Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. She brings to the Clean Gold Campaign a passion for collaboration and outreach. Established in 1964, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation … Free delivery on millions of items with Prime. Bonnie’s work has addressed myriad human rights and civil rights issues as she has brought hard-hitting campaigns and major celebrity engagement to issues as diverse as child slavery, campus sexual assault, human trafficking, genocide, environmental justice, girls education, food safety and animal rights. Sarah is a producer and co-director of the award winning film. The Yorkshire Wildlife Park Foundation is an active supporter of a key project in remote areas of South America to preserve the Giant Otter threatened by deforestation, commercial fisheries, and increased industrialization across the Amazon … This otter eats mostly fish and crustaceans, but will sometimes catch small caimans and small anacondas [4]. Giant Otters are one of the largest predators within the Amazon river. In 2009, the USEPA awarded Luis the agency’s highest award, the EPA’s Gold Medal for Outstanding Service, for his work on the dynamics of mercury in the Amazon Basin.a research ecologist at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, and is the director of the Carnegie Amazon Mercury Project (CAMEP), a multi-institution research initiative that examines the impacts of artisanal gold mining, mercury contamination and deforestation on natural and human ecosystems in the Peruvian Amazon. As co-founder and former director of Ethical Metalsmiths, Miller worked to create a community of individuals committed to responsible materials sourcing by raising awareness of problems needing attention and working to address them. production industry to zero-waste, carbon neutral, sustainable and regenerative practices, and is a founding member of the professional organization Women In Animation. The Giant River Otter only lives in three river systems: the Amazon, Orinoco and La Plata. info@amazonaid.org, Copyright © 2021 Amazon Aid • Site Design by Burwind, Executive Director Center for Amazonia Scientific Innovation. They dwell in flooded forests, slow moving rivers, streams, lakes and swamps. In her downtime she loves hiking, mountain biking and playing with her two dogs. Low prices across earth's biggest selection of books, music, DVDs, electronics, computers, software, apparel & … Known in Spanish as lobo del rio or 'river wolf', it can be as long as a human is tall, and is the most social of the world's thirteen otter … In 2010 and 2011, he served as Chair of the Independent Advisory Group on Sustainability for the Inter-American Development Bank. She has been the recipient of the Charlottesville Village Award, the Dorothy Corwin Spirit of Life Award, the Global Syndicate Humanitarian Award, Worldwide Children’s Foundation of New York’s Humanitarian Award, the Hawaii International Film Festival’s Humanitarian Award, and the Pongo Award. Select Your Cookie Preferences We use … Giant River Otters … The Amazon rainforest is where the Giant Otter lives; it is their habitat, their home. The areas they do inhabit, rivers and creeks, are threatened by overfishing, modification of otter habitat for ‘green’ energy development (i.e. Giant otters, endangered top predators which live in Amazon river ecosystems, were nearly wiped out because of demand for their fur. Box 5649 Bonnie has received commendations for her human rights work from the United States Congress and from the City of Los Angeles. The song was nominated for an Oscar and won an Emmy. Lovejoy, a tropical biologist and conservation biologist, has worked in the Amazon of Brazil since 1965. From 1973 to 1987 he directed the conservation program at World Wildlife Fund-U.S., and from 1987 to 1998 he served as Assistant Secretary for Environmental and External Affairs for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and in 1994 became Counselor to the Secretary for Biodiversity and Environmental Affairs. … Charlie holds a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Columbia University. As the President and Founder of the Amazon Aid Foundation, Sarah works with Neotropical scientists to study Amazonian biodiversity with an eye toward educating the public and introducing cutting-edge conservation practices and on the ground solutions to the region. According to the International Union for Conservation, the Giant River Otter is endangered and considered extinct in Uruguay and likely extinct Argentina [6]. Giant otters are top carnivores of the Amazon rainforest and have little to fear… except man. Giant otters are endemic (live only there and nowhere else) for the South America, and they … They are dark brown in color, with sleek, velvety fur and large, webbed feet. Giant Otters are the largest species of Otter in the world. Trained as a tropical ecologist, Luis is an expert on the environmental impacts of artisanal scale mining on tropical landscapes, particularly on the effects of mercury contamination on wildlife and indigenous communities. The Giant River Otter lives along reaches of slow-moving rivers or creeks, especially in areas adjacent to wetlands like marshes and swamps [1]. The Giant River Otter only lives in three river systems: the Am… Even though Giant Otters are successful in their habitat, these wild animals are not free from danger. Julian Freeman is the operations coordinator for Amazon Aid Foundation and has worked in the similar field for the last 3 years, most recently with the Charlottesville based company CoConstruct. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the organization, Unlikely Heroes, Women in Leadership Award from the City of West Hollywood, Global Champion Award from the International Medical Corps., KCET’s Local Hero/Hispanic Heritage Award, and was named Goodwill Ambassador to the Government of East Timor (appointed by President and Nobel Peace Laureate, Jose Ramos-Horta). Even to the point where Giant Otters can … Susan is also a jewelry designer who uses her jewelry to highlight jewelry industry initiatives and positive narratives from miners and laborers whose work, community and environments are integral to her jewelry creation. She has a Master’s Degree in Communication Management from University of Southern California and Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and World Politics from Vanderbilt University. The giant otter is native only to the Amazon, Orinoco, and La Plata river systems in South America. The Giant Otter can only be found in the Orinoco, Amazon and La Plata rivers in South America. Deforestation is one of the main reason why Giant Otters have been decreasing. It is regulated internationally under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): all trade in specimens and parts is illegal. Giant Otter Project. Giant Otters are found nowhere else in the wild. There are many reasons why scientists and tourists alike are … She has worked on over 30 campaigns, with 14 of the films being nominated for numerous awards, including Oscar and Emmy Awards. Giant otter belongs to a family of carnivorous mammals called mustelid. Nature Documentary hosted by Charlie Hamilton James, published by BBC broadcasted as part of BBC Natural World series in 2013 - English narration [] Cover[] InformationDiablo the giant otter … Giant Otter's velvet pellets have attracted hunters whose numbers have dropped significantly. Susan works through education, initiatives and community. She launched a successful online advocacy effort with Elizabeth Warren for passage of the Dodd-Frank Bill and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Giant Otters are one of the largest predators within the Amazon river. As founder of The Responsible Jewelry Transformative, she works on the mission of uniting and transforming the jewelry industry around responsible practices so that it may help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. which offers public relations, marketing, and social media services to creative content providers in entertainment as well as select non-profit and independent business clients. Bonnie spearheaded the campaign on Diane Warren and Lady Gaga’s song Til it Happens to You from The Hunting Ground’s soundtrack. She worked on numerous high profile campaigns including human trafficking and slavery, ending rape as a tool of war, rehabilitation of child soldiers, justice for the murdered women of Juarez, ending small arms trafficking, protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, and other global issues. Sarah has been engaged in educational innovation for 25 years, creating projects both locally and globally. She launched the ILO’s artist engagement program, Artworks (http://www.iloartworks.org) and spearheaded their End Slavery Now , 50 for Freedom, and Red Card to Child Labour campaigns. There is another threat that deforestation poses, - and that is the risk that deforestation poses to uncontacted tribes within the Amazon rainforest. Giant otters are top carnivores of the Amazon rainforest and have little to fear... except man. Giant Otter This South American otter is the world's largest, at some 6 feet long. He is Senior Adviser to the President of the United Nations Foundation, chair of the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, and is past president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, past chairman of the United States Man and Biosphere Program, and past president of the Society for Conservation Biology. Protective actions in the 1970’s removed the economic incentive for hunting and halted all commercial hunting shortly thereafter. With a streamlined body and webbed feet, this otter is a great swimmer well adapted to both terrestrial and freshwater environments. The giant river otter … First trained as an artist, she brings creative problem solving to her work on gold supply chains, jewelry, and community organizing for Amazon Aid Foundation. They are also good ‘indicator’ species, meaning the population health of the giant river otter is representative of the health of the entire river ecosystem. As one of the Amazon’s few exclusively diurnal species, the otter’s excellent eyesight serves as its principal hunting tool, together with its long and extremely sensitive whiskers. A. Wilcox in June 1978 for The First International Conference on Research in Conservation Biology, that was held in La Jolla, in September 1978. Her initiatives included raising humanitarian aid for Haiti, Pakistan and Japan for International Medical Corps, and working with Madeleine Albright and the National Democratic Institute to advocate for the disenfranchised Romani people in Europe. There are thought to be two subspecies of Giant Otter. The giant river otter. Trees surround them in the tropical forest, providing shade in the heat of the midday sun. Nature Documentary hosted by Charlie Hamilton James, published by BBC broadcasted as part of BBC Natural World series in 2013 - English narration [] Cover[] InformationDiablo the giant otter … It is drained by the Amazon river. The WWF estimates that 17% of the Amazon rainforest has already been lost due to deforestation. Thomas Lovejoy developed the debt-for-nature swaps, in which environmental groups purchase shaky foreign debt on the secondary market at the market rate, which is considerably discounted, and then convert this debt at its face value into the local currency to purchase biologically sensitive tracts of land in the debtor nation for purposes of environmental protection. The otter’s decline is mostly due to hunting for the pelt trade that peaked in the early 1970’s and habitat loss, which together led to local extinctions across the otter’s range. And they have a voracious appetite – the otters consume about 6-9 pounds of food a day [5]! The Giant River Otter(Pteronura brasiliensis), often referred to as the river wolf, is a species in the Mustelid (weasel) family that is endemic to South America. As the Chair of the Care Committee for the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), Nagel helped create the organization’s Sustainable Production Guidelines. Miller is the founder and lead consultant of Christina T. Miller Sustainable Jewelry Consulting and provides strategy, guidance, and impact measurement services to clients including jewelry brands and not-for-profits. From 2009-2014, Bonnie led the Special Projects & Philanthropy division for Academy Award winning composer, Hans Zimmer. And though it may seem they are widely distributed on a continental scale, they only occupy 1-5% of a given watershed. It is both the world’s largest otter and largest member of the mustelid family, reaching up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length. Bonnie Abaunza has dedicated her life to humanitarian work, human rights and social justice advocacy. Behavior and conservation of the Amazon’s giant river otter. However, as an attempt to save Giant Otters, there was a ban to the fur trade in Otter skins and fur. Following the banning of fur trade, giant otter … The recovery of the Giant River Otter has not been so swift, however. Jessie Nagel is a communications specialist who brings decades of experience along with a passion for the environment, sustainability, and the arts, to her work as Chief Strategist with Amazon Aid Foundation. His work centers on understanding biodiversity distribution and the response of forests ecosystems to past and future climate and land use changes. Even to the point where Giant Otters can compete and succeed with other large predators within the Amazon river ecosystem, - such as Jaguars. He received his B.S. The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest happens for several reasons. The threat posed to uncontacted tribes within the Amazon is so strong, that some even believe that these uncontacted tribes face genocide at the hands of Brazil's new president. “My primary interests are community composition and dynamics of Andean and Amazonian tree communities in both space and time. Due to their similar diets, they actually compete with jaguars and larger adult caimans for prey items. in Film with a minor in Fine Arts and Anthropology from San Francisco This deforestation threatens the existence of the Amazon rainforest itself, and the animals that live within the rainforest - including Giant Otters. Her Artists for Amnesty events were covered by the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, London Telegraph, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, TIME, People Magazine, US weekly, Variety, Billboard, Hollywood Reporter and international publications and news networks. Following the banning of fur … The Giant River Otter is a top predator in aquatic systems, and therefore control prey species population sizes to help keep the river ecosystem in balance. Reddit users are going crazy about the giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)—an Amazonian giant that can reach up to six feet (1.8 meters) long. The music video has been viewed over 42 million times and has been embraced as the anthem for the movement to end sexual assault on college campuses. His current projects also address Andean and Amazonian carbon cycles and biodiversity controls for use in innovative, private- and public-sector, ecosystem services projects that change land use by generating revenue for conservation and creating economic and social value for local participants. This has been successful, as following a ban in Otter fur, Giant Otter populations did recover. Ben holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. The giant otter, an endangered apex predator in Amazon river ecosystems, was nearly driven to extinction because of demand for its fur. If there are two subspecies of Giant Otters, then both subspecies live in the Amazon rainforest, and are likely to be very similar in nature and appearance with one another. hydroelectric dams), which will result in habitat loss, and mercury poisoning from illicit and unregulated gold mining and other forms of water pollution. Giant River Otters are huge aquatic mammals that live in the Amazon watershed, as well as many other rivers in the South American rainforest. At the beginning of this year, Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, launched an assault on the Amazon rainforests forest protections. Thomas E. Lovejoy is a Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation and Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University. Lady Gaga performed the song at the 2016 Oscars. He has 20 years of experience in the Andes and Amazon and is coordinator and founding member of the Andes Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group. In fact, a recent study found that the South American mammals make … Climate change and agriculture The impacts of climate change are not limited to natural ecosystems. Getting rid of the Amazons protections poses the risk of further deforestation, and the loss of lands held by indigenous tribes, to give them over to the agricultural industry. From 1999 to 2002, he served as chief biodiversity adviser to the President of the World Bank. Luis is also a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Biology and a Fellow at Wake Forest University’s Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES). Sarah is a producer and co-director of the award winning film River of Gold and the short documentary Mercury Uprising, both films about illicit and unregulated gold mining in the Amazon Rainforest.  Her other film projects include producing the award-winning Kids Against Malaria music video P.S.A., a transmedia program to promote treatment and prevention for malaria in Africa and the Anthem for the Amazon music video, a video with the voices of 500 children from around the world singing to protect the Amazon. Though most remaining subpopulations are fragmented and disconnected, there are important subpopulations still thriving in the Amazon, which should be prioritized for conservation. , Peru, and Madagascar for her human rights work from the of. Any other species of Otter in the establishment of conservation biology, by initiating idea. A primary consultant for the documentary Amazon Gold and was a ban to the scientific.... 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