It is also known as the Guiana flat-tailed otter, margin-tailed otter and winged-tailed otter. How do sea otters hunt? Though they usually consume the entire fish, the animals may leave bones and other remains on homeowners' properties, which can attract other unwanted wildlife. It often becomes specializes in hunting one type of animal, depending on local food availability and the individual’s skills. Read on and enjoy our interesting information about otters. Cute! Sea otters typically show individual foraging specialization – which means an individual predominantly eats a select few species of prey. Sea otters eat around 25% of their body weight in food each day to support their high metabolism. 7 FUN FACTS ABOUT OTTERS! Funny! Sea otters eat 25% of their body weight in food every day. Diet font size decrease font size increase font size; Image Gallery; Sea otters are ravenous eaters because they have to get enough calories to help them stay warm in their cold environment. That was pretty interesting so Buzzfeed, (Apr 14) had also found out that sea otters use rocks to get their prey out like shellfish.Ok that was awesome, right? The kelp also provides cover from predators. The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis), also known as the northern river otter or common otter, is a semiaquatic mammal endemic to the North American continent found in and along its waterways and coasts. The Giant otter was discovered by Gmelin in 1788. They will probably be wrapped in kelp beds. The primary diet of sea otters consists of aquatic invertebrates including crustaceans, sea urchins, mollusks and fish. Sea otters eat about 25% of their weight every day, and is arguably the number one cause in sea otter deaths, when they cannot forage enough food to feed themselves. May 3, 2019 - Sea otters are intelligent and emotional mammals. The otter is a carnivorous mammal in a branch of the weasel family called Lutrinae. While Buzzfeed, (Apr 14) had found out that the number one reason that sea otters are dying is because of oil spills! Since they don’t have a layer of blubber to keep them warm like most of their marine mammal cousins, these thick coats actually have the ability to trap air, forming a layer of cozy insulation to keep them otterly comfy. 5. Diet and Predators. Feb 19, 2015 - Widely considered the cutest animal in the ocean, sea otters have a troubled history with humans. Sea otters also have ears on the side of their head that are hard to see. Sea otters in captivity also like to play in car-wash strips, which simulate the kelp they’d find in the wild. 5. The front hair has a length of 20 mm, an undercoat of 12 mm. Sea otter is the heaviest and the second smallest aquatic member of weasel family. Sea Otters Sea otters are the second smallest marine mammals, and are part of the weasel family. Clever creatures, they'll use rocks to crack open the clams. Most otter species come ashore to give birth in dens, which sometimes have been used by other animals such as beavers. Individuals are specialists, but can change their diet. While most of their activity takes place in the water, these pests can be a nuisance to homeowners who live near rivers. However, this doesn’t mean an otter can’t switch or consume other types of prey as needed. They carry rocks and store food in the loose skin under their armpits - who needs carrier bags! Discover our favourite incredible otter facts, including facts about sea otters, perhaps the cutest of them all. Cuteness! Each individual otter has a favorite food in their diet, so to speak. The river otter is protected and insulated by a thick, water-repellent coat of fur. Most of us don’t know much about them so here are some facts to help you educate yourself about them. This can be up to 10 square miles though depending on where they live and how many people are in their raft. Sea otters have small heads and eyes. In fact sea otters may eat up to 25% of their body weight in food a day! They may go to them occasionally but always return to what is called their home range. The sea otter’s diet includes fish, crabs, molluscs, and sea urchins, and it has very strong teeth for crushing their shells. Feb 19, 2015 - Widely considered the cutest animal in the ocean, sea otters have a troubled history with humans. They are definitely meat eaters. Article from buzzfeed.com. Otter Diet Problems. It is also known to break open shells by hitting them against a rock that it balances on its stomach. Their gestation period is 9 weeks and they can breed at any time of the year, although this usually occurs in spring. Sea otters are today considered to be an endangered species are they were extensively hunted for their fur in the 18th century which meant that sea otter … Sea otters love kelp forests, which are home to tasty treats like the sea urchins that otters retrieve from the ocean floor. It can be fun to test out your knowledge as you go. Look at the chart below to get a breakdown of the otter diet discovered by researchers in Glacier Bay. All in all, the sea otter preys on at least 100 different marine species. Animals. The otters have thick, hard fur of a brownish color, a light belly and a muzzle. They gorge on more than 100 different prey species. Their diet consists of roughly 80% fish, but they will prey upon birds, mammals and frogs if fish are in short supply. Otters.. Sea otter swimming in Resurrection Bay Alaska. Sea otters are the exception, giving birth in the water. If otters fascinate you, below are some interesting otter facts. Top Facts about Otters. The sea otter must consume between 25 and 40 percent of its body weight daily, just to keep warm. Unlike most sea mammals, the sea otter does not have a layer of fat under its skin to keep it warm. 13 amazing otter facts. Giant otters produce 9 different vocalizations and are very loud. Sealife . The Giant Otter of the sea can be heavy. They will also be active in darkness, often foraging around midnight as well. After catching fish, otters eat their prey on the shore. The babies sleep on their mother’s chest, touching the head to her chin, and the adult individuals gently but firmly hold each other’s front paws. Sea urchins are carnivorous predators, eating mostly sea urchins. They take a nap at mid-day during really warm weather. Learn where the otter lives, what they eat, what a group of otters is called, the names of various otter species and much more. But what types of food do wild otters like best? Description. OTTER FACTS FOR KIDS! They have very thick fur – near about 250,000 to one million hair per square inch. 6. Unlike other otters, having a soft undercoat, sea otters possess fur with thick hard hair. The male species of Giant Otter is between 1.5 and 1.7 m in length from head to tail and the female species is between 1 and 1.5 m. The well-muscled tail of the Giant Otter can add a further 70 cm to the total body length. It is also important to not confuse their home range with their territory. Fun Otter Facts for Kids. 1. 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. If a sea otter’s fur becomes dirty, it has trouble absorbing the air needed to keep it warm. Let's celebrate these adorable creatures! The sea otter’s diet includes about 40 marine species, including urchins, crabs, clams, abalones, mussels, and snails. The otter’s diet consists of clams, mussels, crabs, squid, octopuses, sea urchins, sea stars, and fish, most of which are hard-shelled and need to be cracked open first. 4. Let's celebrate these adorable creatures! Instead of blubber to keep them warm, sea otters have a thick and dense fur, in fact the densest in the animal kingdom, that helps keep water out and keep them warm. They like to eat sea urchins, clams, mussels and crabs. They use their sea whiskers to find small creatures to eat, and their paws to dig for clams. Discover facts about sea otters, their died, conservation status, endangered, habitat, diet and more. In summer, when sea otters spend almost all their time in the sea, the way they sleep on the water looks very touching. Sea otters are predators, and are keystone species for kelp forests, which are the habitat for many rare aquatic creatures. Otters consume mainly fish but many people think that they eat plants and berries. Diet | Consists of - mostly abalone, mussels, clams, crabs, snails, and about 40 other marine species. An adult North American river otter can weigh between 5.0 and 14 kg (11.0 and 30.9 lb). Here are some interesting sea otter related facts for you. The sea otter also have webbed feet and hands. Besides, they also prefer to eat crabs, large barnacles, mussels, snails, tubeworms, clams, squid, octopuses, chitons, scallops, sea cucumbers, sea stars and abalone. Sea otters can be found close to certain seas near Alaska, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and the country of Russia. The average otter is 1–1.3 metres in length, and weighs up to 9kg. These animals are most active from 10-11 am and from 3-5 pm. They are diurnal, preferring to forage in the early morning and the late afternoon while resting through much of the night and the middle of the day. The structure of the fur allows the sea otter to keep the undercoat dry at a time when the animal is wet. Otters are fun creatures to watch and they are highly intelligent. Sea otters have awesome facts about them. Here are five fun facts you otter know: Sea otters have the densest fur in the animal kingdom, with up to one million hairs per square inch of their body! Within these seas, they are usually found in the vicinity of the shore (which is typically rocky). Fun Facts for Kids. Did you know that sea otters have tails for swimming. The sea otter spends most of its time in the water but, in some locations, comes ashore to sleep or rest. Have you thought about what the diet/habitat of an sea otter is? otters’ diet consists of hundreds of different types of invertebrates hiding on the ocean bottom. According to Buzzfeed, (Apr 14) the first sea otter was found in 1751. Explore. Check out our range of fun otter facts for kids. Learning Colors! If not you're, going to find out! And that’s just cracking the surface of otter diet facts!