Big-Leaf Maple vs Otter, Fischotter

Acer macrophyllum compared with Lutra lutra

Key Differences

Big-Leaf Maple is Least Concern while Otter, Fischotter is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Big-Leaf Maple	Otter, Fischotter
Kingdom	Plantae (Pflanzen)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordatiere)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Säugetiere)
Order	Sapindales (Seifenbaumartige)	Carnivora (Raubtiere)
Family	Sapindaceae	Mustelidae (Weasels & Otters)
Genus	Acer	Lutra (Otters)
Species	Acer macrophyllum	Lutra lutra

Conservation Status

Big-Leaf Maple

LC — Least Concern

Otter, Fischotter

VU — Vulnerable

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Big-Leaf Maple	Otter, Fischotter
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	10 years
Average Length	—	1.0 m
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Big-Leaf Maple

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Canada, Ireland, and United States.

Otter, Fischotter

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Big-Leaf Maple

The Big-Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) is a species in the genus Acer. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Otter, Fischotter

Sleek semi-aquatic mustelid found along clean rivers, streams, and coastlines across Europe and Asia. European otters can reach 1.3 meters in length and are highly skilled fish hunters, using sensitive whiskers to detect prey movements. Requiring unpolluted water with abundant fish, they are an indicator species for freshwater ecosystem health. Once nearly extinct in Western Europe from hunting and pollution, populations have recovered significantly following water quality improvements.