Description
The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family. It has a stout body with a short tail and rounded head. Its forefeet are padlike with sharp claws and its hind feet are like furry flippers. Adults normally weigh between 30 to 100 pounds and measure 4 to 5 feet in length.
Habitat
In British Columbia sea otters can be found along the west coast of northern Vancouver Island and the central coast, near Bella Bella. The sea otter spends almost its entire life in shallow coastal waters, preferring areas with kelp beds or reefs with underlying rocks.
Diet
The sea otter feeds on clams, sea urchins, abalone, crabs, mussels, starfish, and fish. It dives under water for up to fives minutes and returns to the surface with its prey and a stone. Resting on its back, it places the stone on its chest and bangs the shell of its prey on it until the flesh is exposed. (It actually uses the stone as an anvil not a hammer). The sea otter does not come to shore to eat.
Fur Qualities
Sea otters have one of the thickest coats in the animal kingdom and are dependant on their fur for insulation and warmth. Unlike other mammals, that spend long periods in the ocean, the sea otter does not have a special layer of fat called blubber to keep it warm so it is important that they keep their coats clean to reduce risk of getting hypothermia. Their fur is composed of long, sparse outer guard hairs and soft dense under fur. An adult pelt contains between 800 million to one billion individual hairs. During the fur trade, sea otters were hunted to extinction along the coast of British Columbia. Currently the sea otters in British Columbia are Alaskan sea otters that were relocated to the west coast of Vancouver Island from 1969-1972.
Definitions
Kelp = kelp is large brown cold-water seaweed.
Reef = reefs are ridges of rock, sand, or coral that rise up to or are near the surface of marine water.
Blubber = blubber is a layer of fat under the skin of whales and other large marine mammals that helps to keep them warm.
Hypothermia = Hypothermia is a condition that occurs when more heat escapes from your body than your body can make.
