Otter

Animal Wildlife | Otter | otter cases, otter sea, the sea otter, otter tail corp -The otter is a small mammal that lives both in water and on land. There are 13 known species of otter that inhabit areas all around the world. The otter mainly eats aquatic animals such as plankton and fish, but the otter also hunts small amphibians, birds and occasionally small mammals.

The sea otter from North America have been tracked journeying as far as southern Japan. The sea otter has also been known to grow to more than 1 meter long.

Otters have long, slim bodies and relatively short limbs, with webbed paws. Most have sharp claws on their feet, and all except the sea otter have long muscular tails. The twelve species range in adult size from 0.6 to 1.8 metres (2 to 6 feet) in length and 1 to 45 kilograms (2.2 to 100 pounds) in weight. The Oriental small-clawed otter is the smallest otter species and the giant otter and sea otter are the largest.

They have a very soft, insulated underfur which is protected by an outer layer of long guard hair. This traps a layer of air, and keeps them dry and warm under water.

Many otters live in cold waters and have very high metabolic rates to help keep them warm. Eurasian otters must eat 15% of their body weight a day, and sea otters 20 to 25%, depending on the temperature. In water as warm as 10°C (50°F), an otter needs to catch 100 grams (3.5 oz) of fish per hour to survive. Most species hunt for three to five hours a day, and nursing mothers up to eight hours a day.

For most otters, fish is the staple of their diet. This is often supplemented by frogs, crayfish and crabs. Some otters are expert at opening shellfish, and others will feed on available small mammals or birds. Prey-dependence leaves otters very vulnerable to prey depletion.

Otters are very active, chasing prey in the water or searching the beds of rivers, lakes or the seas. Most species live beside water, entering it mainly to hunt or travel, otherwise spending much of their time on land to avoid their fur becoming waterlogged. The sea otter does live in the sea for most of its life.

Otters are playful animals and appear to engage in various behaviors for sheer enjoyment. Different species vary in their social structure, with some being largely solitary, while others live in groups – in a few species these groups may be fairly large.

Otters have a thick coat of fur which enables the otter to be warm in near freezing waters. There is also a series of thin hairs under the otters fur that help to trap air and keep the otter warm.

The female otter tends to give birth to a few cubs in early spring in burrows in the river bank, where the baby otters are looked after until they are between 4 and 10 months old and ready to fend for themselves.

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