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'Otterly adorable'?: Demand for cute selfies puts animals at risk

The drive for cute selfies with otters could be posing an existential threat to the silky mammal, animal protection groups warn. [AFP]

Social media users are fuelling a burgeoning appetite for acquiring wild otters and other endangered animals as pets, conservationists say, warning the trend could push species towards extinction.

Popular Instagrammers posting selfies with their pet otter may simply be seeking to warm the hearts of their sometimes hundreds of thousands of followers, but animal protection groups say the trend is posing an existential threat to the silky mammal.

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