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Common name: Sea Otter Domain: Eukarya Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Mustelidae Genus: Enhydra Species: Enhydra lutris |
Status:
Threatened provincially and nationally. Status History: The Canadian Sea Otter was designated Endangered in April 1978 and the status re-examined and confirmed Endangered in April 1986 (1). Since then, the status was re-examined again and designated Threatened in April 1996 and in May 2000. Occurrence : The Canadian Sea Otter is located on the west coast of British Columbia. Reason for designation: The species had been extirpated in British Columbia by the fur trade by the early 1900s, and was re-introduced from 1969-72. Numbers are small (<3,500) and require careful monitoring (1). Their susceptibility to oil and the proximity to major oil tanker routes make them particularly vulnerable to oil spills. The Sea Otter range in Canada is limited to small areas in British Columbia. Typical Lifespan: Sea Otters may live for over 20 years when kept in zoos and other such places, but in the wild they tend to live between 10-15 years on average (2). |
Feeding:
The Canadian Sea Otter's are know as omnivores, in other words, they prefer to eat plants and animals. Sea Otters have powerful forelimbs well adapted for grooming and prying off or digging up benthic invertebrate prey (2). Rather than the shearing teeth typical of most carnivores, Sea Otters have flattened and rounded molars adapted for crushing hard-shelled invertebrate prey (3).
Habitat:
The sea otters usually live near the shore waters of the North Pacific, then from Alaska down along the Pacific coast of North America to Baja, California. Many sea otters live near rocky sea bottoms and shorelines, where marine communities are extremely diverse. There are several adaptations for an aquatic existence. Sea Otters have flattened hind feet with elongated digits to allow them to swim efficiently while lying on their back and underwater (2). They also may live where mud and sand are the primary sea-bottom substrates. Sea Otters favor confined areas, such as bays and they stay in areas where the water is less than 130 feet deep (3),
Features:
Sea Otters are sexually dimorphic, although differences are not readily discernible at a distance. Adult males are slightly larger and can reach weights of 46kg and total lengths of 148cm, whereas adult females can grow to 36kg and reach lengths of 140cm (3). Fur colour in adults varies in shades of brown, although the fur may become progressively lighter with age creating a grizzled effect on the head, neck, chest and forelimbs. While all other marine mammals have a layer of subcutaneous blubber to insulate them, Sea Otters have little body fat and instead rely on an exceptionally high metabolic rate and a layer of air trapped in their dense fur for insulation (2). The fur consists of an outer layer of protective guard hairs and a fine dense under fur of approximately 100,000 hairs per cm2 (3). Sea Otters groom frequently to maintain the integrity of their fur and its ability to hold a layer of trapped air for insulation.
The Canadian Sea Otter's are know as omnivores, in other words, they prefer to eat plants and animals. Sea Otters have powerful forelimbs well adapted for grooming and prying off or digging up benthic invertebrate prey (2). Rather than the shearing teeth typical of most carnivores, Sea Otters have flattened and rounded molars adapted for crushing hard-shelled invertebrate prey (3).
Habitat:
The sea otters usually live near the shore waters of the North Pacific, then from Alaska down along the Pacific coast of North America to Baja, California. Many sea otters live near rocky sea bottoms and shorelines, where marine communities are extremely diverse. There are several adaptations for an aquatic existence. Sea Otters have flattened hind feet with elongated digits to allow them to swim efficiently while lying on their back and underwater (2). They also may live where mud and sand are the primary sea-bottom substrates. Sea Otters favor confined areas, such as bays and they stay in areas where the water is less than 130 feet deep (3),
Features:
Sea Otters are sexually dimorphic, although differences are not readily discernible at a distance. Adult males are slightly larger and can reach weights of 46kg and total lengths of 148cm, whereas adult females can grow to 36kg and reach lengths of 140cm (3). Fur colour in adults varies in shades of brown, although the fur may become progressively lighter with age creating a grizzled effect on the head, neck, chest and forelimbs. While all other marine mammals have a layer of subcutaneous blubber to insulate them, Sea Otters have little body fat and instead rely on an exceptionally high metabolic rate and a layer of air trapped in their dense fur for insulation (2). The fur consists of an outer layer of protective guard hairs and a fine dense under fur of approximately 100,000 hairs per cm2 (3). Sea Otters groom frequently to maintain the integrity of their fur and its ability to hold a layer of trapped air for insulation.