The sea otter (sea otter) lives in the tropical and temperate zone of the Pacific coast of South America. With all the measures taken to protect these animals and their legal protection, hunting for them continues today. They continue to be slaughtered for their fur and leather, as well as being competitors in shellfish and fishing.
Description
This is the smallest otter of the genus Lontra. It has a cylindrical, dense, elongated body, strong and short legs. She has fur with hard thick hair, undercoat up to 12 mm long, outer hair - up to 20 mm. Sea otters, the photos of which are presented in this article, keep the undercoat dry even when they themselves are already wet. No fat reserve.
The head of the animal is flat, round with rounded, low-set, small ears located on the sides of the head. Short broad muzzle with very long whiskers, thick, short neck as wide as the head. Small, round eyes set high, with excellent vision.
Her tail is conical, thick, muscular. Five fingers each with strong sharp claws on the paws, have membranes. The sea otter has shorter front legs than its hind legs. Nostrils and ears close when immersed in water.
The teeth are large, adapted for tearing prey.
Enemies
Their main enemies are orcas (killer whales). Sharks, marine predators and birds also prey on young animals.
Food
Sea otters are omnivorous and feed on the tidal zone. The animal's diet includes crabs, shellfish, water birds, fish and other organisms that live in the sea. It happens that it also enters the rivers, looking for freshwater shrimp. During the fruit ripening period, it eats the fruits of plants of the bromeliad family.
Behavior
Sea otters are secretive and timid animals that are diurnal (although occasionally an otter can be active at dawn and dusk). They spend up to 70% of their lives in water, while being engaged in obtaining food and hunting. Swim with their upper back and head extended.
The animal catches its prey on average 300 m from the coast, plunging to 30-50 m, while diving in thickets of algae and near rocks. The dive lasts up to 30 seconds. This species does not use stones to break shells of crustaceans.
Despite the fact that sea otters are mainly aquatic animals, they periodically travel along the coast, moving away from it by 30 m, although when pursuingprey go up to 500 m. Animals on land climb rocks quite well. They like to rest in the vegetation on the shore, located close to the water.
The otter's lair is a hole and a tunnel, where one of the manholes leads into the thickets. When not hunting, she rests in dense vegetation. "Houses" are used for childbirth, feeding offspring, sleep and rest. Sea otters are very fond of lying in the sun, for which they nestle comfortably on the rocks. They arrange their burrows and rookeries where they can easily find food.
How sea otters sleep
In the summertime, when animals spend most of their time in the water, the way they sleep looks incredibly adorable. The cubs sleep on their mother's chest, gently touching her chin with their heads, and adult sea otters hold each other with their paws. Of course, this is not love at all, this is a necessity - while the animal is sleeping, it can be carried very far by the sea current. But how touching this plexus of paws looks!
If an animal hunts alone, it prepares a kind of anchor for itself during sleep. The otter spins in seaweed for a long time, thus winding them around its body, and then calmly falls asleep in such an original "cocoon".
Social structure
The animal leads a solitary life. It should be noted that the average population density is up to 10 otters per kilometer of the coastline. Periodically, animals are found in groups of 2-3 individuals, butnot more. Basically, they settle from each other at a distance of 200 m.
These animals are not territorial, they are without any aggression to the appearance of new individuals of their species on the site. Several females can easily get along in a common area, including hunting grounds, burrows and resting places. Otters periodically mark dens and rocks with feces and urine, but most often they defecate where they rest.
Reproduction
Little is known about him, and the facts that science has managed to establish are interpreted ambiguously by different observers. Basically, sea otters are monogamous, but in places of their large concentration (with an abundance of food resources), one can often observe the development of polygamous relationships. During mating and pair formation, fights between males are often observed, and fighting between mating pairs has also been noted.
The appearance of puppies takes place in a hole, in a den. The female has 2 pairs of nipples. Often the family changes shelter in search of better places to eat, in this case, the parents carry the cubs in their teeth or swim on their backs across the sea, holding them on their belly.
Offspring
The female gives birth to 2 puppies (sometimes 4-5). The lactation continues for several months. The youth stays with their parents for ten months. At the same time, the adult generation brings food to the cubs and teaches them to hunt.
Human benefits
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, for many yearsThe sea otter has been persecuted by man for its skin and fur, and has also been killed as a competitor in shellfish and fishing. An animal caught at a young age is very easily domesticated, trained, and also used by fishermen in the future.
Population
It should be noted that sea otters were included in the documents of the CITES Convention and the International Red Book, but hunting for them continues, despite the laws adopted on the protection of the species.
Threat
- Active harvesting of seaweed growing on the shore (especially kelp).
- Coastal pollution with heavy metals.
- Loss of permanent habitat as the growing tourism industry has led to the development of water sports, increased coastal construction, etc.
- Chased by fishermen who see a competitor in the sea otter.
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