Get it? Each otter? No?
Many people post cute pictures of dogs or cats on their Facebook and Instagram pages, but if you go on mine, you’ll see an abundance of a completely different type of pup.
That’s right; I’m talking about otters. Not only are otters ridiculously adorable, but they are smart and love to have fun. On top of that, they’re a rather interesting mammal. While I could gush all day about these lovely fur babies, let me just give you ten quick reasons why you should love them, too.
- They travel together in little packs called rafts.
Otters are sociable creatures, so it’s understandable that they travel in large groups. Naturally, the size of these groups will range depending on location, but they can be as few as a dozen or more than a hundred! While they sleep, otters will often hold hands to prevent each other from drifting away. Needless to say, if Jack and Rose from Titanic were otters, she really wouldn’t have let him go.
- Otters carry around special rocks to break open shells.
Otters are one of the only mammals who uses a tool of some sort to get to their food- often just a rock. They’re smart enough to crack open the shells of clams, crabs and other crustaceans in order to get their food. If the rock is useful enough, the otter might just hang onto it. Otters have little flaps of fur under their forearm where they keep food and their handy rocks in case they need to get into anything else.
- Otters eat by laying on their back and putting their food on their belly.
Typically, when swimming, grooming or nursing, otters tend to do things swimming on their backs. It makes sense that they would do the same thing when they’re eating, too. They’ll even dive and then swim back up in order to eat (or to use their rock of choice). Out of the water is a different story, but if they’re floating, they’re eating facing the sky.
- Otters almost went extinct!
It’s sad, but true! Otters have beautifully thick fur that was considered to be very luxurious during the days of the Fur Trade. Since people wanted their fur so bad, they actually almost hunted otters to extinction! However, in 1911, the fur trade was brought to a halt, and the US made an active effort to help them recover. After people stopped hunting them, the population exploded and is thought to be one of the best animal recoveries to date. However, despite their huge comeback, they’ve remained on the Endangered Species list, just to keep the little guys safe.
- If you go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium website, there’s a live feed for the otters!
From 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM, you can see the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s otters live. Here is the link, if you want to check it out. The times listed above are Eastern Time, but technically they’re available for us all to coo over from 7:00 AM until 7:00 PM Pacific Time. They get fed three or four times a day and often using little toys to simulate their rock-using tendencies. There’s about four otters there, and they’re very photogenic.
- Otters are great moms!
Otter moms usually only have one baby (called a pup) at a time. Also, usually she’ll deliver the pup in the water. However, after that she keeps her baby on her stomach while she swims and nurses. The pup stays with their mom for eight months, but doesn’t learn how to swim until they’re at least four weeks old. Unfortunately for the baby otters, the fur that they first start out with is pretty buoyant, so they can’t actually dive. Hilariously enough, this means that Mom often will use kelp to wrap a baby leash around her pup so that they don’t float away while she hunts.
- Those big goofy whiskers on otters have a very important purpose!
Otters like fish and other things that move in the ocean, so it makes sense that they would need some way to find them. (Otters close their eyes, nose and mouth when they go underwater.) That’s why they have all those whiskers. The whiskers will pick up on vibrations in the water, leading these cuties to their next meal without ever having to blink an eye.
- Otters groom themselves constantly!
It makes sense. An otter’s fur is so rich because all those hairs are what keep the otter insulated in the freezing ocean. If that fur is anything but ship-shape, then it could really hurt the otter. Otters don’t really have blubber or any sort of fat under all that fur to keep them warm. One of the reasons oil spills are so damaging for otters is because the oil ruins their fur. They groom their fur and teeth after every meal, using the ocean around them.
- Otters are very important for their ecosystem.
Sea otters love to eat, and one of the things they love to eat is the sea urchin. This is really great because sea urchins are not good for the kelp population. If otters didn’t eat sea urchins, the urchins would destroy all the kelp, and it just dominoes from there. Since sea otters are so important for their ecosystem, scientists will keep a weathered eye on the otter population and will use them to figure out how things are going on beneath the waves.
- Otters are just cute!
From sliding down a snowy hill in Yellowstone to squeaking whenever they get a nice scratching, otters are like really skinny, aquatic dogs. Honestly, the last reason you should love otters is because they are so freaking cute! They’ll wriggle onto your lap, squeak your ear off, and just melt your heart. If you don’t believe me, Google “baby otters,” and you’ll fall in love, too.