Today's Featured Animal-The Otter

Happy Fursday, Missians!

It's time for another Featured Animal blog post, (I usually say Featured Pet, but sometimes I may want to feature an animal that's not necessarily a pet--like today).  Today's animal is the otter. These guys are super adorable, and can be quite mischievous too, from what I've heard.

One of my favorite videos featuring an otter was of one destroying an Otter Box, (for those of you who don't know what an Otter Box is, it's a strong phone case for smart phones--not sure if it's just for iPhones).  But anyhow, this little guy didn't seem too enthused that The Otter Box people were using his name and likeness.  Check out this little dude's wrath here:

There was actually a longer video of this, that I saw a while back, but I couldn't find that one, (so you were spared some this otter's fury).  Here is another one of an Otter eating ice and allegedly getting brain freeze:

Okay, enough otter videos.  Let's get on to some real info about these cuddly creatures.  There are different varieties of otters; check them out!  Information courtesy of http://www.otter-world.com/sea-otter/.

 

 

Introduction to Otters

 

Otters are adorable creatures that live both on land and in the water. They are often mistaken for beavers though. They live mainly on land that is very close to bodies of water. They hunt for food both in the water such as fish and then also land creatures including small reptiles. They are small animals that average about four feet in length and up to 30 pounds. There are 13 identified species of Otters known.

 

Most people find the Otter to be a friendly looking creature. They tend to leave humans alone so they aren’t a threat if you happen to come upon one. However, they can bite and they can fight with their tails so if you are provoking an attack then you have been warned.

 

Most Otters are very social and the have a great time with each other. They are quite playful so people tend to want to observe them. Some of the common activities include climbing up hills and sliding down them as well as wrestling with each other. They also can create tools from items in their environment that they play with and that they use for protection.

 

Since Otters live in so many different locations, it is easy for them to be observed. Still, there is more research that needs to be done about their abilities to adapt, survival skills, threats from humans and other animals, and their communication with each other. However, there is still a great deal that we don’t know about them.

 

There are some Otters in captivity and they tend to do just fine. They aren’t expensive animals to care for either. Plenty of research information has been collected from those in captivity. Of course that has created so tension though with various animal rights groups. They don’t feel the Otter should be in captivity unless there are health concerns that prevent it from being able to live on its own in the wild.

 

The efforts over the years to protect the Otters have mostly been successful though. Several species remains in real danger right now while a handful of others are considered to be vulnerable. With plenty of conservation efforts in place right now though there is a very good chance that we will see these creatures surviving well into the future.

 

Otter Species

• Otter Species
  There are 13 known species of Otters left in the world with at least one that was removed from the list due to extinction.
• Sea Otter
  The Northern Pacific Ocean is the primary location where you will find the Sea Otter. The Sea Otter has a small round face that is absolutely adorable.
• African Clawless Otter
  The African Clawless Otter is the second largest of all the species. They are well known for the luxurious hair that they have.
• European Otter
  The European Otter is one what has a distinct look to it. While it does have the brownish color of coat, it also features white along the length of it.
• Giant Otter
  The Giant Otter features a very long body, similar to that of a weasel. They also have the shortest fur of all the different species.
• Northern River Otter
  The Northern River Otter is found both in Canada and the United States. Norther river otters are very long animals with large sized heads.

Here's specific info on the cutest of the bunch, the sea otter:

Sea Otter – Enhydra lutris

Description

The Sea Otter has a small round face that is absolutely adorable. Just about everyone that seems them has a comment in that regard to make. They can be up to 100 pounds so they are the heaviest of all species.

Distribution

The Northern Pacific Ocean is the primary location where you will find the Sea Otter.The Sea Otter is the only species that doesn’t go to land for much time. Experts believe that it can move on land but that it chooses not to. It does very well living exclusively in the water. However, they do choose to live close to the shore so that they can find food easier. California is a prime location for Sea Otters to reside.

Behavior

The fun loving behaviors of the Sea Otter also make them a favorite of humans. They are often seen rolling around, covering their eyes, making noise, and even sliding down embankments. They are very active during the day and then to sleep at night. They are also known to sleep in the heat of the day before continuing to hunt for food and to play in the late afternoon.

Sea Otter – Enhydra lutris

Diet/Feeding

The main part of the diet for the Sea Otter consists of mollusks and crustaceans. They do consume some small types of fish but not to the same degree as other species of Otters do. They do mainly feed during the day but many of the females with pups tend to hunt at night instead.
These Otters are able to use rocks and pieces of wood to open up the shells of many foods they want to consume.

I won't go overboard and post too many facts, but be sure to go to the site and read more about them.  I'll be back tomorrow with a pet trivia blog post.  Until then, here's to wishing you all a fantabulous Fursday!

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