Includes bibliographical references (p. [239]-260) and index
1. Otter ecology and its background -- 2. Thirteen otters of the world : some natural history -- 3. Evolutionary relationships, questions and methods of otter ecology -- 4. Habitats -- 5. Groups and loners : social organization -- 6. Scent marking and interactions : social behaviour -- 7. Diet -- 8. Resources : about fish and other prey -- 9. Otters fishing : hunting behaviour and strategies -- 10. Thermo-insulation : a limiting factor -- 11. Populations, recruitment and competition -- 12. Survival and mortality -- 13. Syntheses : challenges to otter survival -- 14. Otters, people and conservation