Interesting Facts About Otters

Otters are adorable and intelligent creatures. This article will look at some interesting facts about otters.

Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 30 million years or more.

There are thirteen species of otter alive today. There were fourteen but Maxwell's otter is presumed to be extinct.

Many species of otter are either endangered or threatened.

Otters are quite intelligent. In fact, they are one of few tool using mammals.

Otters have webbed feet with five toes.

Otters are related to weasels, ferrets, mink and badgers.

River otters are fairly comfortable on land but sea otters can barely walk and hardly ever leave the water.

Sea otters can eat up to twenty-five to thirty percent of their body weight each day. Although fish make up the main portion of their diet, otters eat different foods during different seasons including birds and small mammals.

Otters are mainly solitary and nocturnal animals.

Otters are natural swimmers. They can stay underwater for up to five minutes. Otters have valve-like skin flaps that cover their ears and nostrils which allow them to dive to depths of up to thirty-five feet.

Otters hunt by sight and touch. Their whiskers are very sensitive and pick up vibrations of nearby fish. Since an otter's vision underwater is somewhat poor their sensitive whiskers are even more important to their hunting skills.

Otters are found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia.

Otters are the only marine mammals that have fur instead of blubber. Otters must groom their coats constantly to keep them from becoming matted. A grown otter's fur can contain up to one billion hairs.

Otters develop a strong social bond and keep families close. A female otter is ready to mate again almost as soon as a litter is born. The pups will be fully grown within a year.

Otters mark their territory with droppings called spraints that have a very distinctive odor that resembles fresh mown hay.

Sea otters are often referred to as "Old Men of the Sea" because they have long white whiskers on their face.

When baby sea otters are born they are almost as big as their mother.

Once hunted almost to extinction, sea otters are now protected by the Endangered Species Act.

The average lifespan of an otter is ten to twenty years.

I hope you have enjoyed reading these interesting facts about otters. They are truly fascinating, skillful and intelligent creatures.

Sources:

www.otternet.com