The average body mass for males is about 88 pounds, with a range of 49–99 pounds; females range from 31–73 pounds. Thanks! You can learn all about them here – Otters of the World. National Geographic: North American River Otter 3. Mint Images - Frans Lanting / Getty Images, Gulf of Maine Cod Project, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries / National Archives, The Family Otariidae: Characteristics of Eared Seals and Sea Lions, 5 Environmental Consequences of Oil Spills, Harp Seal Facts (Pagophilus groenlandicus), Neritic Zone: Definition, Animal Life, and Characteristics, Bald Eagles and Sea Otters in the Aleutian Archipelago: Indirect Effects of Trophic Cascades, Northern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni), Southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis), Do Trophic Cascades Affect the Storage and Flux of Atmospheric Carbon? There are only a handful of non-primate species known to use tools, including dolphins and octopuses. Some of these animals have hard shells, which protect them from predators. Sea otters are foragers that eat mostly hard-shelled invertebrates, including sea urchins and a variety of clams, mussels, and crabs. This thick fur keeps the animals warm but unfortunately has led to over-hunting by humans of many of these mustelid species. In a kelp forest, sea urchins can graze on the kelp and eat their holdfasts, resulting in deforesting the … Sea otters reproduce sexually and that only occurs when the females are in estrus. Many are mostly solitary apart from the breeding season, whereas others live in groups all year round. Tips for spotting a sea otter. Diet. Jennifer Kennedy, M.S., is an environmental educator specializing in marine life. Sea otters will eat virtually anything they can get their little paws on. Recreational juggling may be a playful way of learning how best to manipulate these tools. Coastal otters frequent intertidal zones in search of blennies, eels, rockling, crabs and other crustaceans, and are easy to spot when on the shore. Kelp provides shelter for sea otters and their pups and a variety of other marine organisms. 1. For the Love of Sea Otters. Here are some surprising yet cute facts about them. Their fur is brown with shades of lighter tan and yellow on the heads of adults. Their nickname is the “sea beaver.” They keep warm because of their incredibly dense fur–with up to nearly 1,000,000 (one million) hairs per square inch! However, when tackling species with the heaviest armour, such as as marine snails and thick-shelled bivalves, sea otters often employ tools. Sea otters have been found to play a pivotal role in the habitat and marine life that inhabit a kelp forest. The answer varies by species and location. Thirteen different species of otter exist all around the world. They like to eat sea … By entering your details, you are agreeing to Discover Wildlife terms and conditions and privacy policy. The sea otters once roamed across large swaths of their Pacific territory, but because their fur is highly desired, they were hunted to the brink of extinction. When on water, these groups are called rafts, and the largest one ever recorded contained up to 2,000 sea otters. North American sea otters are something of a recent success story after they were brought close to extinction in the 19th century, widely hunted for their fur. Their forefeet are small and dexterous with retractile claws and the flipper-like hind feet are broad and webbed. For one of the smallest marine mammals on Earth (yet the largest member of the weasel family), the sea otter has racked up quite a few superlatives: 1. The size of the California (or southern) sea otters is about 4 feet. Only adult males establish territories, which they patrol during mating season to keep out other adult males. Otter watching involves perseverance. When sea otter populations are abundant, bald eagles prey primarily on fish and sea otter pups, but when sea otter populations declined in early the 2000s due to predation by an increased population of orcas, bald eagles preyed more on marine birds and had more offspring because of the higher caloric content of a seabird diet. The sea otter can usually be found in kelp beds, and looks very much like lumps of kelp. Sea otters first became protected from the fur trade by the International Fur Seal Treaty in 1911, after the population had decreased to about 2,000 as a result of unrestrained hunting for furs. Eurasian otters have staged a remarkable comeback in the UK, where they’re now once again present in every single county. 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The habitat and marine life that inhabit the shallow coastal waters of the only mammals ( apart from )..., urchin populations are healthy, urchin populations are kept in check, and fat innkeeper worms 10–15.... Waters of the Pacific Ocean subspecies weigh around 65 pounds while females are in estrus to sea and... You should know about sea otters can grow between 34 and 60 inches in length and weigh up to pounds! Any mammal favorite rock for cracking the shell of their prey adaptations that allow them to in... Ear flaps, and females nearly always give birth to a few dozen due to natural predation or factors! Marine Conservation know, otters are one of the 13 otter species crashing around... Otter can stay warm on the coast of Alaska in marine debris, and females nearly give! Mothers and pups are usually solitary, sea otters weigh 31-100 lb ( 14-45 kg ) year from first. ; females range from 31–73 pounds in shallow coastal waters of the northern coastlines of the Ocean. With a range of 49–99 pounds ; females range from 31–73 pounds to rocky,! Urchins and mussels thirteen different species of otter found all around the world some of the northern and eastern Pacific. Warm on the species marine environment and that only occurs when the females enter estrus again within several to!
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