Also, their feet are webbed, which helps them swim. It also included Kamchatka, and as far south as Japan. They have very thick fur – near about 250,000 to one million hair per square inch. They have a rich fur for which humans hunted them almost to extinction. google_ad_width = 728; Otters are very active hunters, spending many hours a day chasing prey through water or scouring the rivers and the sea bed. They even love to live in swamp and marsh areas. It can grow up to 2.4m (8ft) long from nose to tail. Sea Otter Facts For Kids The nostrils and ears of sea otters close in the water. Some kinds of otters live in groups, while others are almost always alone. Sea otters have also been hunted in large numbers for their fur. The length of a sea otter is four feet in California whereas in north sea, the height is slightly more than this. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are classified as marine mammals.They live along the Pacific coast of North America.Their historic range included shallow waters of the Bering Strait.It also included Kamchatka, and as far south as Japan.Sea otters have about 26,000 to 165,000 hairs per square centimeters of skin. An otter's den is called a 'holt' or a 'couch'. Fun Facts for Kids. sea otters like to stay in groups. It lives in the rivers and swamps of tropical South America, forming noisy family groups that often hunt together. The most common staple food of otters is fish. Hunting of otters was also common. Mishka is an asthmatic otter who uses an inhaler. They mainly eat fish but also frogs, crayfish and crabs, some species carry a rock to help smash open shellfish. “Otter Facts For Kids” This video is See Full Post River otters are just one species of the 13 species of otters found throughout the world, and they live to be about 8 years old in the wild. //-->. Each European otter within its territory of between 1 and 4 miles has fixed locations where it gets into and exits from the water, sunbathing, rolling and sliding about on "otter stairways". Unlike most marine mammals, otters do not have a layer of insulating blubber. A group of otters is called a raft, according to the San Diego Zoo. Otters are very protective of their little habitat though that they have created on land. They have a thick fur coat that keeps them warm even in freezing water. They stayed relatively common in parts of Scotland and Ireland, but numbers in England reached a low point in the 1980s. Here are 16 Interesting Otter facts. Through to the large Giant otter and Sea otters who can reach 1.8 m (5.9 ft) and 45 kg (99.2 lb). They usually stay on all four legs, but they can stand up as well but they are expert swimmers and spend a lot of time in water. VIDEO: OTTER FACTS FOR KIDS! 1. Otter Facts and Information. Otters live in a wide variety of watery locations, from the mighty Amazon to the heart of Singapore. Roadkill deaths are now happening more. River Otter Facts: Lesson for Kids | Study.com Who is shaped like a torpedo, has whiskers like a cat, and has webbed feet like a duck? Otters live on every continent except for Australia and Antarctica. Otter information, Habitat, Feeding, Anatomy, Reproduction, Predators Facts about Sea Otter, Giant Otter, European Otter, African Otter and River Otter. Sea otters wrap themselves in kelp or hold hands when sleeping to prevent drifting. google_ad_client = "pub-4643150179421087"; Sea Otter Facts For Kids | Top 20 Amazing Facts about Sea Otters I’m bringing you all these and other useful sea otter facts for kids including sea otter diet, habitat, and reproduction. The female sea otters are smaller as they grow up to 4.7 feet in length and weigh up to 73 pounds. They are now recovering strongly. An otter family will defend a territory and use scent to mark the territory boundaries. sea otters live in kelp forests.Sea otters like to eat crab octopie but their favourite food is the spiny purple sea urchin.Sea otters like Otters have a slender body, a long neck, and short legs. It is also found in many parts of Asia, and parts of northern Africa. They eat fish, crayfish, crabs, and frogs. They are also very curious and like to investigate new things.Otters spend a good part of their day grooming themselves. /* sci facts 160 */ Lifespan: 10-15 years on average, but some have lived to be 20. It is found in the rivers and coasts of Europe. Much of their food is found in water. They are typically 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) long and weigh between 6.5 and 60 pounds (3 and 27 kilograms). The European otter (Lutra lutra) was common as recently as the 1950s, but became rare because of DDT pesticides, habitat loss and water pollution. Generally, the male sea otters grows from 3.11 to 4.11 feet in length and weighs around 49 to 99 pounds. Cute! They have a thick fur coat that keeps them warm even in freezing water. Otters are long and slim animals with four short legs that can be longer than a meter. Funny! There are 13 species of otter found all around the world. On average, an adult male California sea otter consumes over 4,000 calories daily. Flexing their long bodies up and down, paddling with their webbed hind … The largest otter is the giant otter… Because they spent so much time in cold water, they have to groom their fur often to stop themselves from freezing. This traps a layer of air which keeps them dry and warm under water. , Science Kids ©  |  Home  |  About  |  Topics  |  Experiments  |  Games  |  Facts  |  Quizzes  |  Projects  |  Lessons  |  Images  |  Videos  |  Privacy  |  Sitemap  |  Updated: Apr 11, 2020. Their nickname is the “sea beaver.” The males of this subspecies weigh around 65 pounds while females are 45 pounds in weight. They are also very vocal and communicate use a variety of calls. A group of otters is called a romp. The coolest of all otter facts is that they use tools to crack open the shells of crabs and clams. Otter Sock Puppet! They dive in rivers, lakes and streams until they can find a suitable animal to eat, which they then chase. June 26, 2018. iStock. A group of otters are called a 'bevy', 'family', 'lodge', or 'romp', or, when in water the group is called a 'raft'. Sea otter is the heaviest and the second smallest aquatic member of weasel family. Instead air is trapped in their fur which keeps them warm. There is a zoo in Japan that has tiny holes in the Otter enclosure allowing for people who visit the zoo to shake hands with the otters. They prefer slow-moving rivers, lakes, swamps and flooded forests during the rainy season. Sea otter is the heaviest mustelid with the weight measuring at 22 – 45 kg (49 – 99 lb) in males; and the length measures around 1.2 – 1.5 m (3 ft 10 in to 4 ft 10 in). 11. It's a river otter! They will use rocks to open food like clams, sea urchins and crabs. Their sleek, streamlined bodies are perfect for diving and swimming. European otter. 1. In these tales the smart kawauso often fool humans, kind of like a fox. Hunting of otters was also common. Otter species range in size from the smallest Oriental small-clawed otter at 0.6 m (2 ft) and 1 kg (2.2 lb). Otters are adorable creatures that live both on land and in the water. /* sci facts 728 */ Although once near extinction, they have begun to spread again, from remnant populations in California and Alaska. Giant otter belongs to a family of carnivorous mammals called mustelid. An otter is one of the few species that use tools. This makes them one of the few animals that use tools. – Source 12. Otters are very playful animals and have been seen sliding down snowdrifts or mud banks on their bellies. - Sourc Otters are a popular animal in Japanese folklore where they are called "kawauso". Other foods include frogs, crabs, small mammals, birds, clams, urchins, shellfish, and crayfish. Sea otters can stay underwater for 5 minutes, and river otters can hold their breath for even longer - 8 minutes! Mothers cuddle their young while floating on their backs and hold infants on their chests to nurse them. There are 13 species of otter found all around the world. They keep the air topped up by blowing into the fur with their mouth. They frequently carry a rock in a pouch under their forearm. The otter is a carnivorous mammal in a branch of the weasel family called Lutrinae. Otters are part of the Mustelid family of animals which also includes badgers, pine martens and weasels. These adorable aquatic mammals are clever, chatty, and oddly aromatic. Their fur is often brown at the top, and lighter underneath the Otter. They eat fish, shellfish, and other water animals. Amazing Facts About the Otter. Fun Facts for Kids. An otter must consume 25% of its bodyweight in prey each day just to stay alive (for a 75 lb kid, that’s 75 1/4 lb burgers!). Otter is a common name for a carnivorous mammal in the subfamily Lutrinae. Some live near rivers, some in the sea (Sea Otters). In California, the weight of a female is 45 lbs and of a male otter is 65 l… An otter's den is called a 'holt' or a 'couch'. They are also nocturnal and hunt at night. Otters are aquatic (water-based) relatives of badgers and weasels. Sea otters are found in the offshore environments and they come to the surface to forage. You may not believe this but one of the otter facts for kids is that otters are masters in using stones to break open the shellfish. Read on and enjoy our interesting information about otters. Some otter species spend all their time in the water while others are land and water based animals. They can be seen sliding down hills and slopes, as well as chasing other otters for fun. 7 FUN FACTS ABOUT OTTERS! But the sea otter’s habitat is unique, as they only live in shallow coastal waters in the North Pacific ocean. Its ears and nostrils are closed down in water. google_ad_height = 600; Otters are now quite common, especially in the west of England. They are able to stay well hidden in these types of environments which makes them less like to fall victim to a variety of predators on land. The giant otter is the largest of all the otter species. – Source 13. A raft is usually comprised of single-sex sea otters that can range from 10 to a hundred individuals.