The Sea Otter
Name Derivation
Their scientific name, Enhydra lutris, is a name in Greek. "En hyrda" meaning "in the water" and "lutris" meaning otter.
Their Discovery
Sea Otters were found in the time around 1760-65 when an explorer Bering first expoloed the Aleutian Islands. These sea dwellers are ancestors of the weasel family.
Habitat
Sea Otters live around coastal, shallow water mainly in the North Pacific Ocean. They remain in two areas, which are the ocean floor where they find their food and the ocean surface where they eat, groom, rest and socialize. Sea otters prefer confined areas like bays and inlets where the water is shallow, and typically stay where the water is less than 130 feet deep. They socialize in groups called "rafts". Sometimes, but rarely they go to shore to rest and lay on small icebergs, sandy beaches, or rocks.
Characteristics
They are the smallest marine mammal, but the average adult can be as large as 5 ft in length and can be as heavy as 70 pounds. The average length of a female sea otter is 4 ft in length and weigh on average 60 pounds. They have brown fur but parts of their head and their whole chests fur turns an off-white color. They have roughly diamond shaped noses and their mouthes contain back teeth molars like humans, rather than the fish-slicing teeth of a river otter. Their hind paws have adapted more into flippers than paws used for swimming.
Reproduction
Males have multiples female partners but pair bonding occurs for a few days before they move on. Mating happens in the water and can be rough. An unusual fact is that the male usually bites the nose of the female and sometimes holds their head underwater afterwards. They are the only otters to gve birth in the water. Females nurture their young floating on their back which is very unique. The infant lies on their chest while they nurse, and the mothers quickly teach their kin to swim and hunt. At birth, baby sea otters weigh approximately 5 pounds and are 10 inches in length.
Diet
Sea otters float in the forests of kelp, and giant seaweed which they feed on. They mainly eat clams, mussels, urchines, crabs and fish. they dive to capture their food and dive up to 250 feet into the water. They use rocks to open hard shell pray such as clams and mussels. They mostly feed in the mornings and afternoons. An amazing fact is that sea otters prey on up to 100 different species.