It has a distinguished rhinarium which is fully covered with short dark hair "from the upper edge of the nostrils".

[2] In Thailand, it was recorded in the Pru Toa Daeng peat swamp forest and in areas around the Bang Nara river.

These tiers make the habitat hard to penetrate, providing protection from human disturbance and cover from predators.

These two Vietnamese reserves contain many canals and floating aquatic plants like Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes, Salvinia cucullata and Ipomoea aquatica to hunt and play in, with surrounding rice paddies as a third buffer zone.

[9] In Vietnam, it was sighted and recorded by camera traps in U Minh Thuong National Park in 2000, where also spraints were found with fish scales and remains of crabs.

[13] The hairy-nosed otter occurs in coastal areas and on larger inland rivers, solitary or in groups of up to four.

[10] Its diet includes fish, such as broadhead catfish, snakeheads, and climbing perch, and water snakes, mollusks, and crustaceans.

The species is threatened by loss of lowland wetland habitats, hunting for fur and meat, and accidental killing during fishing.