The Habitat for Sea Otters
Sea otters are a type of marine mammal. These animals spend most of their lives at sea and rarely come to shore. At the height of the fur trade in the 17th and 18th centuries, sea otters were hunted nearly to extinction, according to the University of Minnesota. In 1911 the practice of hunting sea otters was banned, and their population slowly began making a comeback.
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Identification
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Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are around 4 feet long including the tail. They have long forelegs with retractable claws, and their webbed back feet are shaped like flippers. They have small rounded ears and a large black nose pad, according to Seaworld. Sea otters have long flexible bodies and long tails. Animal Diversity Web explains that these animals do not have a layer of fat that protects them against the cold. Instead, they are protected by a dense insulating coat of brown or cinnamon-colored fur.
Types and Geography
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The Animal Diversity Web and the Seaworld websites explain that there are three different subspecies of marine otters. Enhydra lutris nereis, or the California sea otter, is found off the coast of central California. The Russian or Asian sea otter (Enhydra lutris lutris) is found from the Commander Islands to Hokkaido, Japan. Last, the Alaska otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) is found primarily along the Alaska, British Columbia and Washington state coastlines.
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Habitat and Diet
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Except for occasional visits to the shoreline, sea otters spend most of their lives in the water. The Animal Diversity Web indicates that sea otters live in coastal waters close to the shore. Seaworld adds that the California otter lives near underwater kelp forests where they can forage for food. Sea otters eat fish, as well as sea urchins, mollusks, crabs and other invertebrates.
Keystone Species
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The University of Washington recognizes the sea otter as a keystone species, which is a type of plant or animal that can make dramatic changes to an ecosystem if it is removed. For example, the Animal Diversity web explains that the sea otter eats sea urchins. Urchins, in turn, eat kelp. When the population of California otters was reduced, the kelp forests were decimated because the otters were not there to control the sea urchin population. As the sea otter population regained footing in southern California, the kelp beds and the sea life that inhabits the kelp beds increased as well.
Conservation
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In 1972 the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act officially listed the sea otter as a protected species. The numbers of Russian and Alaskan otters have grown, but California sea otters are still listed as threatened, according to the Animal Diversity Web.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Otter image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
