顶级捕食者在生态系统中发挥着重要作用，受到研究者们的广泛关注。水獭作为很多淡水生态系统的顶级捕食者，在我国却长期处于被忽视的状态。我国分布有3种水獭——欧亚水獭、亚洲小爪水獭和江獭，曾经遍布我国中东部和东北地区，包括珠江口地区。但在20世纪，3种水獭均经历了大规模的种群下降，甚至区域性灭绝。在全球13种水獭中，已有3种（海獭、北美水獭和欧亚水獭）通过种群复壮和重引入实现了种群重建，这为其它水獭物种的种群重建提供了重要参考和建议。同国内其它地区类似，珠江口地区的水獭种群在20世纪后期大量减少，目前只在少数几个地点还有确切的欧亚水獭分布记录，亚洲小爪水獭和江獭已无近期记录。在珠江口重建水獭种群具有重要的生态意义和社会价值。本文对重建珠江口水獭种群的相关问题进行了分析。

Apex predators play important roles in ecosystems and are therefore of great interest to researchers. As apex predators in many freshwater ecosystems, however, otters are largely disregarded in China. Three otter species – Eurasian otter, Asian small-clawed otter, and smooth-coated otter had been found in China, distributing widely across central, southeast, and northeast China, including the Pearl River Delta. All of them have experienced severe population decline and local extinction during the last century. Among the 13 extant otter species found worldwide, three species – sea otter, North American river otter, and Eurasian otter have been successfully restored through reinforcement and/or reintroduction, thus providing guidelines and suggestions for the future restoration of other otter species. Otter populations in the Pearl River Delta have also undergone dramatic declines during the last century. There are only a few remnant populations of Eurasian otter found in restricted areas of the Delta, whereas no recent records of Asian small-clawed otter or smooth-coated otter were reported. Restoring otter populations in the Delta has important ecological and social significance. We discuss related issues regarding future otter population restoration in the Pearl River Delta.