Group Of Otters Are Called

Otters are some of the most adorable aquatic animals. Their mannerly features are unparalleled, from their expressions to their employ of tools.

Held every twelvemonth during the concluding week in September, Body of water Otter Sensation Week spotlights the important part of sea otters in nearshore ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean. Go ready for some awesome otter facts and photos. Nosotros promise that y'all'll exist otterly entertained!

1. Forget everything you thought you knew well-nigh otter species. Thirteen different species be around the globe. The U.S. is home to ii species: the sea otter and the North American river otter. River otters are much smaller — averaging 10-thirty pounds — with a cylindrical trunk and small head. Sea otters counterbalance more — around 45-90 pounds — with big, furry faces.

A sea otter raises its paws to its face while it floats on its back. — If this southern sea otter looks comfy, that's because information technology'due south settling down to rest in a small patch of Egregia (plumage boa kelp) at Moss Landing in California. Photograph past Lilian Carswell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

2. Otters have some interesting relatives. Otters are part of the Mustelidae family unit, which is a family unit of carnivorous mammals that includes skunks, weasels, wolverines, and badgers. The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family, notwithstanding the smallest marine mammal in North America.

An otter floats on its back in clear, blue water — A bounding main otter snoozes on its back — showing its hind legs, tail and webbed feet, which make otters slap-up swimmers. Photograph by Bob Winfree, National Park Service.

3. Nearly sea otters call Alaska home. Approximately 90 per centum of the world'south ocean otters live in coastal Alaska. Many live in the waters surrounding public lands including Kodiak National Wild fauna Refuge, Kenai Fjords National Park, and Glacier Bay National Park. Southern sea otters range along the mainland coastline of California from San Mateo County to Santa Barbara County, and San Nicolas Island.

A large group of sea otters all float together in the water — Own't no party like a ocean otter party! A group of otters stay together for common protection from predators in the waters around Moss Landing, California. Photo by Lilian Carswell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

4. U.Southward. and international law protects threatened bounding main otters. Hunted to the border of extinction by fur traders in the 18th and 19th centuries, the few remaining sea otters (nearly ii,000 scattered in remnant colonies throughout the North Pacific rim) were starting time protected by the International Fur Seal Treaty in 1911. Sea otters in the U.s.a. received additional protections with the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Human action in the 1970s.

A person holds a baby otter that is wrapped in a yellow blanket — A rescued sea otter pup is taken to Alaska SeaLife Center to be treated. Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

v. Body of water otters eat 25 percent of their torso weight in nutrient every day. Sea otters' diets include sea urchins, crabs, mussels, and clams, which they're known to crack open with a rock and swallow while floating in the water. To find food, sea otters may occasionally swoop as deep as 250 feet and will use their sensitive whiskers to locate small-scale prey inside crevices or their strong forepaws to dig for clams.

A sea otter floating on its back bites into a crab. — This bounding main otter decided on the all y'all tin eat crab legs for its evening meal. Photo by David Ledig, Agency of Land Management.

6. Sea otters take the thickest fur of any animal. Their fur contains between 600,000 to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch. Dissimilar most other marine mammals, otters lack a blubber layer. Instead, they depend on their dumbo, water-resistant fur to provide insulation. To go along warm, sea otters spend a large portion of their days preparation and workout their fur. This traps air and heat adjacent to their skin.

An otter floating in water licks its paw — A body of water otter grooms itself to stay warm. Photograph by Lilian Carswell, U.Southward. Fish and Wildlife Service.

7. Sea otters can have a pup any time of the year. Southern ocean otters brood and pup year-round, while northern sea otter pups in Alaska are usually born in the bound. A newborn pup needs constant attention and will stay with its mother for six months until it develops survival skills. Fun fact: An otter pup'southward fur is so dense that it tin't dive underwater until it gets its adult fur. This comes in handy when mothers exit their pups safely floating on the water's surface while they forage for food.

A baby sea otter lays on its mothers stomach while they both float in the water with other otters — A mother sea otter carries her pup. Photo past Lilian Carswell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

8. Don't claiming otters to a breath holding contest. An otter's lung chapters is 2.5 times greater than that of like-sized state mammals. Sea otters accept been known to stay submerged for more than than 5 minutes at a time. River otters, however, tin can agree their breath for up to 8 minutes. The increased time underwater improves otters' opportunity to sense prey and forage for food.

A sea otter licks and grooms its body — A sea otter floats and grooms in the waters at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Photo by the National Park Service.

9. Otters are an essential keystone species. A "keystone species" is a species that is disquisitional to how an ecosystem functions because information technology has large-scale effects on the communities in which it lives. Along the Pacific declension, bounding main otters assistance command the sea urchin population. Fewer sea urchins in plough aid prevent kelp forests from being overgrazed. In California, enquiry has constitute that sea otters also enhance seagrass beds, and in Alaska'south Glacier Bay National Park, sea otters' expansion into the surface area marked a gradual return of a more various ecosystem and an exciting moment in colonization efforts.

A sea otter twists its body in the water. — By rubbing their flippers and forepaws simultaneously, bounding main otters increase the efficiency of a preparation session. Photo past Lilian Carswell, U.Due south. Fish and Wildlife Service.

x. The otter is one of the few mammals that utilize tools. A sea otter's tool of pick: typically a rock that tin can exist used as a hammer or anvil to break open hard-shelled prey. Ever wonder where otters actually store these tools for safe keeping? They have a loose patch of skin under their armpit to store both the food they've foraged and their rock to crack it open.

An otter breaks into mussels that are resting on its belly — An otter enjoys a snack of fresh mussels at Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska. Photograph by Anne Langan, National Park Service.

xi. A group of resting otters is chosen a raft. Otters love to rest in groups. Researchers accept seen concentrations of over 1,000 otters floating together. To keep from drifting abroad from each other, body of water otters volition wrap themselves upward in seaweed, forming something that resembles a raft.

Group of sea otters float in blue water. — A raft of otters resting in a grouping. Photo past Lilian Carswell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

12. Otters might look soft and cuddly only remain dangerous wild animals. Otters have strong teeth and a powerful bite. Then, whether yous see an otter on land or at sea, be certain to maintain a prophylactic distance of at to the lowest degree 5 kayak lengths or 60 feet from the otters. Learn more about staying safe effectually sea otters.

A sea otter floats in a bed of kelp in the water. — A sea otter in the Prince William Sound of Alaska, relaxes in a bed of kelp. Photo past Pecker Tucker (sharetheexperience.org).

If an otter notices you, it probably means you're too close. Make certain to have pictures from shore or at to the lowest degree five kayak lengths from the otters and always use your zoom. Love these fun otter facts? Check out this otter-worldly info.