|
Description: The sea otter is the smallest marine mammal in the Northern Hemisphere. They are members of the weasel family and are related to the mink, fisher and river otters. The otter has a long, rounded body with a broad head and snout with whiskers; blunt rounded teeth for crushing invertebrate shells, webbed-hind feet that are great for swimming; front paws that have short toes used to grab and handle food; and a “pocket” or flap of fur under each arm in which they store food while diving.
The male weighs 70 to 90 pounds, whereas the female is much smaller weighing only 40 to 60 pounds. Adult otters grow to be about 4 ˝ feet in length. Although some males can grow to be 6 feet long and weigh up to 100 pounds. The otter’s undercoat can be brown to black in color, and the guard hair may be silver, dark brown or black. Older sea otters tend to have silvery hair.
To learn more click here.
|