Sea Otters live in the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean in North American and Asia.
Sea Otters spend most of their life at sea, but will come ashore in bad weather or to avoid predators.
Most Sea Otter "raft" in kelp beds with other otters. Although they hunt on the sea floor, they return to the surface to eat. Sea Otters have "pockets" in their skin and fur so they can tuck away a food item until returning to the surface to eat. They also use sea rocks to smash through the shells of crustaceans and urchins.
The only otter to give birth in the sea, Sea Otter mothers nurture and care for their babies almost entirely in the water. Babies cling to their mothers' bellies to sleep and travel (while their mother floats upon her back). Sea Otters learn to hunt and swim early in life.
These creatures are very clean. After eating they wash themselves in the salt water - cleaning their coats with their teeth and paws. Cleaning their coats helps them stay waterproof and insulated against cold. Otter have a thick underfur that traps air to form a warm insulating layer against cold waters. They do not have insulating fat as other marine mammals sometimes do.
Sea Otters spend most of their life at sea, but will come ashore in bad weather or to avoid predators.
Most Sea Otter "raft" in kelp beds with other otters. Although they hunt on the sea floor, they return to the surface to eat. Sea Otters have "pockets" in their skin and fur so they can tuck away a food item until returning to the surface to eat. They also use sea rocks to smash through the shells of crustaceans and urchins.
The only otter to give birth in the sea, Sea Otter mothers nurture and care for their babies almost entirely in the water. Babies cling to their mothers' bellies to sleep and travel (while their mother floats upon her back). Sea Otters learn to hunt and swim early in life.
These creatures are very clean. After eating they wash themselves in the salt water - cleaning their coats with their teeth and paws. Cleaning their coats helps them stay waterproof and insulated against cold. Otter have a thick underfur that traps air to form a warm insulating layer against cold waters. They do not have insulating fat as other marine mammals sometimes do.