Sally's Awesome Page of Sea Otters!!! 

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`     Characteristics: Sea otters have small, round heads, closeable nostrils, ears with flaps, and small eyes that are good for seeing in and out of the water. The nostrils and the ears will close while underwater so that no water gets into them.

     Southern sea otters are about 4 feet long including their 12-inch tails. Northern sea otters sometimes can be a little larger. Male sea otters are usually about 65 lbs. and females are about 20 lbs. less than males.

     Sea otters have the thickest fur of all mammals. Sea otter fur contains two layers, an undercoat and long guard hairs on top. These two layers have air trapped between them to keep in warmth. A sea otter furs are usually a brown or a black color. Sometimes the guard hairs can be a light, tan color.

     Sea otters have front paws shaped like mittens. Although their front paws are covered with fur, they have rough pads and claws to hold their prey better. Like a cat's claw, sea otter's claws can be pulled back into their paws. The front paws of a sea otter are very different from the paws on the hind legs. The paws on a sea otter’s hind feet are webbed. This helps the sea otter swim faster.

     Sea Otter Family: Sea otters are mammals like us. Just like all mammals, they are warm blooded. Their babies are born alive and the babies feed from their mothers’ milk. The group of mammals that the sea otter are included in is called the Mustelidea family. This group includes badgers, weasels, minks, and skunks.

     Eating Habits:Sea otters have a cool way of eating. They use their stomachs as a table by placing all their food on it. When sea otters bring up hard shells with prey inside, they also bring up a big piece of rock. Then, they bang the hard shell on the rock until it opens enough so they can eat what is inside.

     Sea otters eat clams, snails, abalone, crabs, starfish, scallops, squid, small octopuses, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, limpets, marine worms, several types of fish, and a bunch of other things. Sea otters eat about 160 different types of food.

     Most of the time sea otters eat at the surface. When they see a fast moving fish, they will swallow the fish underwater. Sea otters use loose folds of skin as shopping bags. For example, a sea otter would tuck scallops, sea urchins, crabs, or other things they can eat under its arm.  When sea otters eat a starfish, they bite off the tips of their legs, so they can then suck out the soft parts.

     Sea otters live in cold water, which makes it hard for them to keep warm. Sea otters have to eat at least 25% of their body weight each day. This is to keep a normal body temperature because they do not have a layer of blubber to keep them warm. For example, if an otter weighed 55 pounds, it would have to eat 13.75 pounds a day. Each day, a sea otter needs to eat every three hours.

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         Habitat: Sea otters live in many different places. Here are the places: the Kuril Islands, Kamchatka, the Commander Islands, the Aleutian Islands, British Colombia, Vancouver Island, and Point Sur, California. Sea otters don't live in the coast of Mexico, the Pribilof Islands, and Hokkaido. This is because a long time ago too many people killed the sea otters and used the valuable thick sea otter fur for trading. A sea otter's fur was very valuable and the finest fur of all the mammals. Sea otters live in shallow water areas. They can also be found in these areas just floating on a piece of kelp, head up.

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     Life Cycle: Most of the sea otter pups are born in the early spring. Newborn sea otters range in weight from 3 to 5 lbs. Sea otter pups are typically born in the water. Sea otters are the only otters to give birth in the water. After a few weeks, young sea otters can be found swimming, diving,grooming themselves,or also beginning to eat solid foods. Young sea otters are very curious and play roughly in the water. Between five and eight months of age, sea otters leave their mother to make it on their own.

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     Sea Otter Communication: Otters make several different sounds to communicate. A baby sea otter will cry when it is left alone. It makes a shrill "wee" sound like a seagull. Otters will whistle or whine when they're upset or frustrated. When a sea otter hisses or growls, that's a warning for the predators to back off. The mother sea otters will "coo" when they are grooming their baby’s fur with their teeth or claws. They will make a grunting sound when they are happy, like when enjoying a tasty snack.

     Predators: A sea otter's predator is sharks, humans, orcas, sea lions, coyotes, brown bears, and bald eagles. Humans are predators because humans would always hunt for otters because their fur is very valuable and they're the finest. But the main threat to southern sea otters is the great white shark. In Alaska, orcas are the main predators to otters.