It also included Kamchatka, and as far south as Japan. Flexing their long bodies up and down, paddling with their … Giant ottters are very sociable animals and often live in groups of up … GIANT OTTERS ARE SUPER CHATTY. Sea otters are incredibly clean and keep their waterproof coats in perfect condition. Otter is a common name for a carnivorous mammal in the subfamily Lutrinae. The otters at Durrell are Asian small-clawed otters who live in lakes, rivers, rice fields and canals in SE Asia. Otters are animals that live near and around water. The Giant otter was discovered by Gmelin in 1788. Roadkill deaths are now happening more. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are classified as marine mammals. They have a thick fur coat that keeps them warm even in freezing water. They grow to 1.0 to 1.5 m (3.3 to 4.9 ft) in length and weigh 30 kg (66 lb). While river otters spend most of their time in water, they do travel across land as well—often in search of a mate. Fun Facts About Otter. They have very soft, insulated underfur, which is protected by an outer layer of long guard hairs. However, sea otters are typically marine mammals. During which time otters have adapted to live both on land and in water. The North American river otter, also known as the northern river otter or the common otter, is a species of otter. Otters grab their prey in their mouths. The European or Eurasian otter is often referred to as the common otter. Otters are carnivores; they must eat a lot of meat to live, so they spend 3 to 5 hours every day fishing and hunting. Sea Otter Facts For Kids. Otters can dive 300 feet down in water while looking for food. 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. Otters have been around for at least 5 million years. Generally, the male sea otters grows from 3.11 to 4.11 feet in length and weighs around 49 to 99 pounds. I recently found out that sea otters fall asleep holding paws and my heart has never been so full. If the animal has a hard shell, otters can u… They can die of hunger more quickly than most animals. Otters prefer water bordered by woods and with wetlands, such as marshes, nearby. The size of the California (or southern) sea otters is about 4 feet. They are a part of the animal family Mustelid. Their fur is often brown at the top, and lighter underneath the Otter. These are ready-to-use Otter worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the otters which are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. This page was last changed on 29 September 2020, at 11:12. They will eat any small animals and birds they can catch. Currently the southern sea otter population is estimated at just above 3,000 animals. Fun Facts about Otters for Kids. Once they catch it, they bring it to the top of the water, where they eat it. Although once near extinction, they have begun to spread again, from remnant populations in California and Alaska. Hunting of otters was also common. Otters are adorable creatures that live both on land and in the water. They also love to play. Otters are fun creatures to watch and they are highly intelligent. So, before you go, here’s everything you need to know about what makes Giant Otters so special. They are great swimmers and divers; they can stay underwater for 8 minutes. This fur is so thick … They eat fish, crayfish, crabs, and frogs. Otters prefer to live in bodies of water that are close to land offering them wetlands or the woods close by. They live along the Pacific coast of North America. Their historic range included shallow waters of the Bering Strait. This traps a layer of air which keeps them dry and warm under water.They keep the air topped up by blowing into the fur with their mo… 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? An otter lives about 10 years. They can grow to be more than a meter long, from head to tail, and weight up to 14 kg. These animals are most active from 10-11 am and from 3-5 pm. Otters are very playful: Don’t be surprised when you see otters happily sliding. River otters generally live along rivers, as their name implies, but they're also found near streams and lakes. Fun Facts for Kids. 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. Top Facts about Otters. They are also very curious and like to investigate new things.Otters spend a good part of their day grooming themselves. The northern sea otters can weigh as much as 100 pounds. They run a few steps and then slide on their bellies. They are expert swimmers and spend much of their time hunting for prey in water, where they catch mainly fish and invertebrates. An otter family will defend a territory and use scent to mark the territory boundaries. Otters are now quite common, especially in the west of England. Otter babies are called pups. This traps a layer of air which keeps them dry and warm under water. They also leave their scent on plants to mark their territory. In the wild, these otters eat crabs, shellfish and small fish like gouramis or catfish. Their thick and long tail helps them steer while swimming underwater. Giant otters produce 9 different vocalizations and are very loud. https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/river-otter.html. It's a river otter! Giant otter belongs to a family of carnivorous mammals called mustelid. An otter pup's fur is too dense for it to swim underwater. Clearly, otters know how to have fun! Most live on shorelines of freshwater rivers and lakes, but a few hunt along seaside coasts. Once they catch it, they bring it to the top of the water, where they eat it. It can be fun to test out your knowledge as you go. Otters are aquatic (water-based) relatives of badgers and weasels. Few sea otter species emerge on land either for giving birth or for resting. Scientists have also learnt a whole lot more from otters including these five fast facts: There are 13 species of otter. Otters live on every continent except for Australia and Antarctica. A raft is usually comprised of single-sex sea otters that can range from 10 to a hundred individuals. A group of otters is called a raft, according to the San Diego Zoo. What they look like: The River Otter is built for swimming - they have a streamlined body, short legs with webbed feet, dense fur that keeps them warm, a tapered tail, small ears, and nostrils that can close underwater. They take a nap at mid-day during really warm weather. When the otters catch large fish, they haul them onto shore to dine. They will eat any small animals and birds they can catch. 2021 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Giant otters are endemic (live only there and nowhere else) for the South America, and they can be found in the Orinoco, Amazon and La Plata River systems. Can otters use tools? They’ve been around for more than 5 million years. They typically use … Some of the best known are the giant otter, the sea otter, the European otter, the Northern river otter among others. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use Privacy Policy. They stayed relatively common in parts of Scotland and Ireland, but numbers in England reached a low point in the 1980s. [1] They keep the air topped up by blowing into the fur with their mouth. They are now recovering strongly. They are also nocturnal and hunt at night. Otters are playful and energetic. Sea otters use rocks to break open clam and mussel shells. Otters are very social creatures. Otters are long and slim animals that can be longer than a meter. They have very soft, insulated underfur, which is protected by an outer layer of long guard hairs. This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about otters across 18 in-depth pages. Unlike other otter … As they dive, they close their ears and nostrils to keep water out. Flexing their long bodies up and down, paddling with their webbed hind feet, and using their feet and strong tails to steer, river otters are underwater acrobats. Otters have a slender body, a long neck, and short legs. Much of their food is found in water. They eat fish, crayfish, crabs, and frogs. In 2014, a study of giant otters found that the river-dwellers … There are 13 species of otter found all around the world. 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. Some live near rivers, some in the sea (sea otters). Otters even make their land travel look playful. 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". Otters consume mainly … 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). There are 13 types of otters in the world. Because they spent so much time in cold water, they have to groom their fur often to stop themselves from freezing. 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). They can be seen sliding down hills and slopes, as well as chasing other otters for fun. It’s one of the things … 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. Otters place a rock on their chests and smash the shellfish against it until it breaks open to reveal the tasty meat inside. This makes them one of the few animals that use tools. All rights reserved. Otters are part of the Mustelid family of animals which also includes badgers, pine martens and weasels. Sea otters have about 26,000 to 165,000 hairs per square centimeters of skin. Otters are great swimmers and divers. They hunt underwater, skillfully chasing fish, their main food. [2] They have a rich fur for which humans hunted them almost to extinction. Their tail is over a foot long It is also known as the Guiana flat-tailed otter, margin-tailed otter and winged-tailed otter. Do giant otters live in a group? They are, http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/otters/physical-characteristics.htm, https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/w/index.php?title=Otter&oldid=4989524. The males of this subspecies weigh around 65 pounds while females are 45 pounds in weight. A group of otters is called a "romp", because they play together and are energetic. Otters are most active at night. Did you know… Otters are carnivores? Most of us don’t know much about them so here are some facts to help you educate yourself about them. Otters are carnivores; they must eat a lot of meat to live, so they spend 3 to 5 hours every day fishing and hunting. Sea otters live in the northern Pacific Ocean, along the coasts of California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Russia and Japan. There are 13 species of otter around the world and many of them are endangered. Sea otters wrap themselves in kelp or hold hands when sleeping to prevent drifting. Otters like to hold hands. Giant Otter Facts. Some content of the original page may have been edited to make it more suitable for younger readers, unless otherwise noted. Sea otters rest and sleep by floating on their backs. Otters talk to other animals and otters with whistles, growls, chuckles and screams, as well as chirps, squeals, and some kinds of otters might even purr. If the animal has a hard shell, otters can use a rock as a tool to break open the shell. They have a thick fur coat that keeps them warm even in freezing water. Otters are very playful animals and have been seen sliding down snowdrifts or mud banks on their bellies. They frequently carry a rock in a pouch under their forearm. Much of their food is found in water. They dive in rivers, lakes and streams until they can find a suitable animal to eat, which they then chase. The charismatic otter, a member of the weasel family, is found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Also, their feet are webbed, which helps them swim. They can die of hunger more quickly than most animals. They use this to smash open shells. The fur of a sea otter is usually dark but it can also be shades of white or grey. A group of otters are called a 'bevy', 'family', 'lodge', or 'romp', or, when in water the group is called a … Otters prefer water bordered by woods and with wetlands, such as marshes, nearby. Otters are long and slim animals with four short legs that can be longer than a meter. So, their mother leaves them floating while … © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, © 2015- It is found throughout North America, inhabiting inland waterways and coastal areas in Canada, the Pacific Northwest, the Atlantic states, and the Gulf of Mexico. Amazing Facts About the Otter. They have webbed feet and the ability to close their nose and ears underwater. Otters are closely related to badgers. Content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. On they ground, they can run very fast. California’s southern sea otter has been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act since 1977. The European otter (Lutra lutra) was common as recently as the 1950s, but became rare because of DDT pesticides, habitat loss and water pollution. They like to slide off embankments into the water, wrestle, chase their tails and participate in other fun games. Otter Worksheets. Fun Facts for Kids. They prefer slow-moving rivers, lakes, swamps and flooded forests during the rainy season. They groom their fur so it stays water-repellent. Content of this web page is sourced from wikipedia ( http://simple.wikipedia.org). The female sea otters are smaller as they grow up to 4.7 feet in length and weigh up to 73 pounds. They eat fish, shellfish, and other water animals. There are many different kinds of otters. They even love to live in swamp and marsh areas. Watch a music video about a sleepy little otter featuring a song by Parry Gripp! Sea otters play a vital role in the health and stability of the nearshore marine ecosystem as a keystone species They have four short legs. Otters love fish. At birth, the weight of a pup is 3 to 5 pounds. They eat meat and hunt for fish and small animals, so they have sharp claws and teeth that allow them to catch prey, then eat them. Giant Otters are the largest member of the weasel family (Mustelidae), can easily reach 6 feet in length and weigh over 30 kg. They live in nests called holts. They can stay underwater for up to four minutes. Not all otters use tools, but sea otters use them all the time. They dive in rivers, lakes and streams until they can find a suitable animal to eat, which they then chase. Sea Otter Facts. 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