Sea Otters, The Water Weasel

The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family.

Picture from Sea Otters

Otters are also the only member of the weasel family that lives almost entirely in water.  Their habitat consists of two areas in these waters- the ocean floor where they find their food, and the ocean surface where they eat, groom, rest and social interactions occur.

The Sea Otter

The sea otter is quite the unique animal. It’s the heaviest otter in the world, reaching weights of up to 100lbs, and is also the only otter that is almost entirely aquatic. Though capable of walking on land, sea otters actually spend more time in the ocean than some seals.

Sea otters historically inhabited Pacific coastal regions in eastern Russia and western North America from Mexico to Alaska. Current populations are more sporadic, with the largest populations living in Russia.

Unlike other aquatic mammals, sea otters do not have blubber and depend entirely on their fur for insulation. Luckily, this fur happens to be the densest in the animal kingdom, with up to one million hairs per square inch! By comparison, humans only have about 2000 hairs per square inch on their heads.

Sea otters are a very important species to aquatic ecosystems. They consume a wide variety of invertebrates such as sea urchins, clams, mussels, and bivalves, helping to protect beneficial marine plants such as kelp. Conservation efforts are continuously underway to help restore this important animal to all of its former range.

The Otters are Waving

My boyfriend recently visited the beach and claims to have had “a moment” with a sea otter. In fact, he swears one waved at him! Whether or not I believe him — I’m not sure I do — I was intrigued and decided to learn more about this neighborly animal.

Sea otters are very social animals, floating in groups of sometimes less than 10 to more than 100 (and occasionally waving at humans). They are the smallest marine mammal, but an adult can weigh up to 70 pounds and reach 5 feet in length. Sea otters are especially known for their fur, which is the finest of any mammal, consisting of 850,000 to 1 million hairs per square inch. They depend on their fur to keep them warm in the water. Early in the 20th century, otters almost became extinct because of fur trappers, hunting them for their coats, but now there are up to 150,000.

Check out the Jungle Store for some otter stuffed animals and other otter-related gifts.