A dead Otter is seen on Chepeconde beach, amidst rising cases of bird flu infections, in Lima, Peru on February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda 

A flock of birds flying over the Chepeconde beach, where otters and sea lions infected with bird flu have been found, in Lima, Peru February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda 

A SERFOR National Forest Service personnel puts on personal protective equipment (PPE) at Chepeconde beach, where otters and sea lions infected with bird flu have been found in Lima, Peru February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda 

SERFOR National Forest Service personnel check a dead otter amid bird flu infection on Chepeconde beach, south of the city of Lima, in Peru, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda 

SERFOR National Forest Service personnel check an otter that died of bird flu on Chepeconde beach, south of the city of Lima, in Peru on February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda 

An otter swims in a river in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the abandoned village of Pogonnoe, Belarus, March 13, 2016. What happens to the environment when humans disappear? Thirty years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, booming populations of wolf, elk and other wildlife in the vast contaminated zone in Belarus and Ukraine provide a clue. On April 26, 1986, a botched test at the nuclear plant in Ukraine, then a Soviet republic, sent clouds of smouldering radioactive material across large swathes of Europe. Over 100,000 people had to abandon the area permanently, leaving native animals the sole occupants of a cross-border "exclusion zone" roughly the size of Luxembourg. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko SEARCH "WILD CHERNOBYL" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

An otter eats frozen fish during a heatwave at Madrid's zoo July 17, 2014. REUTERS/Andrea Comas (SPAIN - Tags: ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT) 

A river otter looks for food stashed in a used Christmas tree at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Massachusetts January 16, 2014. A resident of Provincetown, Massachusetts collected and donated used Christmas trees to the zoo, where the animals play with, and in some cases eat, the trees. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES - Tags: SOCIETY ANIMALS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

A romp of Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinerea) gather near a stream in their enclosure at the Night Safari in Singapore March 7, 2012. The smallest of the world's otter species are classed as being vulnerable in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. REUTERS/Tim Chong (SINGAPORE - Tags: ANIMALS) 

An Asian short-clawed otter eats a fish in its enclosure at Chester Zoo in Chester, northern England, January 5, 2012. The smallest of the world's otter species are part of a breeding programme at the zoo as they are classed as being vulnerable in the wild. REUTERS/Phil Noble (BRITAIN - Tags: ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

A pair of sea otters eat a salmon at dawn in Esquimalt, British Columbia on Vancouver Island August 13, 2010. The pair caught the fish in nearby waters and then devoured their catch on a small dock. REUTERS/Andy Clark (CANADA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT ANIMALS SOCIETY) 

A pair of sea otters eat a salmon at dawn in Esquimalt, British Columbia on Vancouver Island August 13, 2010. The pair caught the fish in nearby waters and then devoured their catch on a small dock. REUTERS/Andy Clark (CANADA - Tags: ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

A river otter plays with a soccer ball in its lagoon at the Santa Fe Zoo in Medellin June 9, 2010. REUTERS/Fredy Amariles (COLOMBIA - Tags: SOCIETY ANIMALS) 

A sea otter tries to cool down near an ice block at Antwerp's zoo July 2, 2009. Temperatures reached 31 degrees Celsius in Belgium, according to the Royal Meteorological Institute. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir (BELGIUM ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

A sea otter cools down in a pool at Antwerp's zoo July 2, 2009. Temperatures reached 31 degrees Celsius in Belgium, according to the Royal Meteorological Institute. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir (BELGIUM ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT) 

An oriental short-clawed otter plays with its cub at the zoo of Wuppertal July 1, 2009. REUTERS/ Ina Fassbender (GERMANY ANIMALS) 

A family of otters are pictured during London Zoo's annual stocktake January 8, 2009. REUTERS/Andrew Winning (BRITAIN) 

Otters are fed by a visitor at Phnom Tamoa zoo, 40 km (25 miles) southeast of Phnom Penh April 5, 2008. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA) 

A male Russian sea otter Roochi is seen at the Sunshine International Aquarium in Tokyo June 13, 2007. REUTERS/Issei Kato (JAPAN) 

An Otter drinks water from a bucket in an empty pool at the Parque de Las Leyendas' Zoo in Lima May 18, 2007. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil(PERU) 

A little boy watches an otter in an aquarium at Prague's Zoo during a warm day March 6, 2007. REUTERS/Petr Josek(CZECH REPUBLIC) 

Small-clawed otters are seen in their new home at the Asia Trail area of the National Zoo in Washington October 11, 2006. The Asia Trail, which opens October 17, will feature one of the largest small-clawed otter facilities in the United States. REUTERS/Molly Riley (UNITED STATES) 

An adult otter holds a fish in its paws at the first public showing of three new born Oriental Small-clawed Otter cubs at Sydney's Taronga Zoo June 8, 2001. [Mother Saudara gave birth to two male and one female cubs in March and were given their first public viewing today. ]The Oriental Small-clawed otter, the smallest of the otter species, is found throughout Asia. 

Two three month old Oriental clawed-small otters catch a fish from a water basin in Hamburg's zoo Hagenbeck October 19. Four Oriental clawed-small otters (Aonyx Cinerea) were born in Hagenbeck on July 16.
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