Baniwa indigenous people maintain spiritual harmony with giant otters in Brazil

Baniwa indigenous fishermen in the upper Negro River of northwestern Brazil maintain a peaceful coexistence with giant otters and neotropical otters.

Ecologist Natalia Camps Pimenta led a study in 2026 involving 19 fishermen from seven communities along the Içana River. The research examined how the relationship between the Baniwa people and these animals has evolved from spiritual guardianship to periods of commercial exploitation and back to modern coexistence.

Fishermen reported seeing otters regularly during the dry season, but few view them as direct competitors for food. Most fishermen adjust their behavior by changing fishing spots or reducing noise to avoid disturbing the animals. The study suggests that the Baniwa and the otters have limited food competition because the people prefer medium to large fish while the otters primarily eat smaller fish. The Baniwa view giant otters as spiritual guardians of the water, similar to shamans.

While international fur trade in the 1950s and 1960s caused otter populations to crash across the Amazon, Brazilian laws and the demarcation of indigenous lands in the 1990s helped the species recover. Pimenta says this research shows that indigenous knowledge serves as a sophisticated system for managing and understanding the natural world.