SEA OTTERS

description

• smallest marine mammals
• their hind feet are webbed and adapted for swimming and their front feet have short toes to grab and handle food
• very clumsy on land
• sea otter's fur is the thickest and finest of any mammal

description

• they use air trapped between their hairs to keep themselves insulated in cold water
• sea otters spend much of their time grooming themselves in order to keep their fur in good condition

location

• found in shallow waters in the North Pacific Ocean
• they are found in waters with kelp beds bc they wrap themselves with the kelp when they're resting
• they don't migrate unless they're in search for food

diet

• they eat sea urchins, crabs, clams, mussels, octopus, and other marine invertebrates
• they dive to the bottom to capture food and out it in their armpit when they're coming back up so they don't drop it😍
• if the prey has a hard shell they hit it against a rock to break it open

predators

• humans
• sharks
• bears
• eagles (on the pups)
• killer whales

communication

• produce sounds and communicate vocally
• use scent for marking territorial boundaries
• use visual indicators to show that they're present like heaps of sand

behaviors

• they float together in groups of 10 to 100
• the groups are separated by sex
• the usually swim on their backs
• at 4 weeks of age a pup begins to swim

classification

• largest member of the weasel family
• only one that lives almost entirely in the water
• scientific name: enhydra lutris kenyoni

videos

• http://youtu.be/wavh47RpLz4
• http://youtu.be/2Mhxq3-Dttk
• http://youtu.be/6t9inPilslc