In the northern latitudes lives a marvelous sea animal - a sea otter. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that, being a representative of mammals, it prefers the aquatic environment to dry land. And this is far from the only oddity inherent in this species. Let's get to know him better.
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Initially there were long disputes about which family the sea otter belongs to. The otter was their close relative, but a number of special differences forced scientists to doubt the final verdict. Ultimately, they agreed that they ranked the sea otter in the marten family, but at the same time they singled them out as a separate species. True, some even today call these animals “sea otters.”
The very same word "sea otter" came from the Kuril Islands. The fact is that the locals called these animals kalaga (“beast” in Koryak). Subsequently, this name was picked up by Russian hunters, who then brought it to the scientific community. It should also be noted that at the moment scientists distinguish three subspecies of these creatures:
- Regular or Asian sea otter.
- Northernsea otter.
- Southern or California sea otter.
Area
Today you can meet sea otters in the northern latitudes of the Pacific Ocean. The most numerous groups live off the coast of Kamchatka, California, Alaska, Canada and the Aleutian Islands. Also, thanks to the efforts of scientists, small settlements of these animals were bred near Japan and British Columbia.
In the past, the range of sea otters was much wider. But due to mass extermination by people, in the 19th century, the boundaries of their home narrowed significantly. Now they can be found only in the above places, while before they inhabited almost all the northern coasts of the Pacific Ocean.
Appearance
Let's start with the fact that the common, southern and northern sea otters have the same external features. Their division is based on habitat, and not on external or social differences. Therefore, this description is appropriate for the species as a whole.
This is a rather large animal: the sea otter grows up to one and a half meters in length and weighs about 25-35 kg. Despite such proportions, it is perfectly adapted to the aquatic lifestyle. Its body is elongated, with a small round head. The tail of the animal is short: thick at the base and thin at the end.
The main advantage of the sea otter are the hind legs, equipped with strong membranes. It is they who allow the animal to masterfully swim and dive. But the forelimbs are devoid of such a device. Instead, they end in strong fingers, at the end of which the main weapon of the sea otter is located - claws.
The animal's fur is quite dense and thick. Thanks to this, it perfectly tolerates cold and frost. In addition, the ability to release grease on the surface of the six allows the sea otter to keep the skin dry even while swimming under water. As for the color of the fur, the most common are brown individuals. However, inside the colony there are rare individuals that are born with snow-white-white hair.
Lifestyle
So, what habits does this animal have? The sea otter spends most of its time at sea, only occasionally coming to land. As mentioned earlier, he has everything you need for this: thick fur, a thick layer of fat and powerful paws equipped with membranes. More curious is that the beast can not only swim freely, but also sleep on the water. To do this, he rolls over onto his back and lies down peacefully on the surface. And so that the sea current does not take it far from the coast, the sea otter wraps itself with algae, which serve as a kind of anchor for it.
Despite their passionate love for the sea, animals can stay on land long enough. Most often, they get ashore in cold weather, so as not to waste excess energy on maintaining heat in icy water. At the same time, animals try to settle on rocky coastal zones. This is necessary in order to hide among the stones from people. After all, it is man who is the main enemy of sea otters.
But they are friends with the animal neighbors. They can often be found in the company of seals, walruses and even birds.
Diet
This is a carnivorous animal. The sea otter skillfully hunts fish and shellfish, grabbing them afloat with tenacious paws. In addition, he likes to catch sea urchins and crabs. The beast deals with the latter with the help of stones: a strong shell cannot be bitten through with teeth, and therefore they break it with hard objects.
Sea otters hunt mainly during the day. However, if necessary, they can easily go looking for food at night. True, in this case they will rather comb the coastline than go for prey in the water. Indeed, in reality they do not need sight - they may well rely on a good scent.
Cut to extinction
Today sea otters are listed in the Red Book. The reason for this was the stupidity of man. In the XVII-XIX centuries, hunters from all over the world came to the Northern latitudes in order to get valuable animal fur. Because of this, by the beginning of the 20th century, the population of animals decreased by more than 80%, which could lead to the complete extinction of the species.
Fortunately, environmental organizations stopped the outrage in time. Now the number of sea otters is gradually going up. However, it is still too early to talk about a complete victory, because due to global warming, this species will soon face a new, no less dangerous disaster.
