“After nearly an hour of brutal fighting, it’s all over.” An otter family must defend its pups from a deadly caiman. What happens next is truly extraordinary

Measuring up to almost two metres (6 feet) long, the giant otter is the largest of its kind.

Found in the Amazon, Orinoco and Río de la Plata River systems of South America, these highly social creatures build underground burrows which can house large family groups.

They primarily eat fish (such as perch, catfish and even piranha), but will also hunt crabs, snakes and even small anacondas and caimans.

When filming for Giant Otters of the Amazon (a 2013 episode of the BBC TV series Natural World), wildlife filmmaker Charlie Hamilton-Jones followed one particular family of otters, headed up by Diablo, who resides with six cubs in a Peruvian lake.

As one of the toughest creatures in the Amazon jungle, giant otters are surrounded by black caimans, anacondas, jaguars and pumas.

But they are also highly territorial, and the animals the giant otters hunt can also pose a threat to their offspring.

And during filming, Charlie Hamilton-Jones captures “nearly an hour of brutal fighting” between the family and a caiman who refuses to back down. But who will win out?

This article by Sophie Ellis was first published by Discover Wildlife on 22 October 2026. Lead Image: A yacare caiman in the Cuiaba River, in Mata Grosso, Brazil. Credit: Jami Tarris/Getty Images.