Marine animal sea otter: appearance, features of behavior and diet

In the northern latitudes there lives a marvelous sea animal - a sea otter. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that, being a representative of mammals, he prefers the aquatic environment on land. And this is not the only oddity inherent in this species. Let's get to know him better.

Description of the species

Initially, there were long debates about which family the kalan belongs to. Otter was their close relative, but a number of special differences forced scientists to doubt the final verdict. Eventually they agreed that they had assigned a sea otter to the family of cunies, but at the same time separated them into a separate species. True, some even today call these animals "sea otters."

The very word "kalan" came from the Kuril Islands. The fact is that the locals called these animals a Kalagan ("beast" in the Koryak way). Subsequently, this name was picked up by Russian hunters, who then brought it to the scientific community. It should also be noted that at this time, scientists identify three subspecies of these creatures:

• Ordinary or Asian sea otter.
• Northern sea otter.
• Southern or Californian sea otter.

Areal

Today you can meet sea otters in the northern latitudes of the Pacific Ocean. The most numerous groups live near the coasts of Kamchatka, California, Alaska, Canada and the Aleutian Islands. Also, thanks to the efforts of scientists, small populations of these animals were bred near Japan and British Columbia.

In the past the range of sea otters was much wider. But because of mass extermination by people, in the XIX century the borders of their house were significantly narrowed. Now they can be found only in the above places, while earlier they inhabited practically all the northern coasts of the Pacific Ocean.

Appearance

To begin with, the ordinary, southern and northern sea otters have the same external features. Their division is based on the place of habitation, and not on external or social differences. Therefore, this description is suitable for the whole species as a whole.

This is a fairly large animal: the calan grows up to one and a half meters in length and weighs about 25-35 kg. Despite such proportions, it is perfectly adapted to the water way of life. His body has an oblong shape, with a small round head. The tail of the animal is short: thick at the base and thin at the tip.

The main advantage of the sea otter is its hind legs, which are provided with strong membranes. They allow the animal to masterfully swim and dive. But the forelegs are devoid of such an adaptation. Instead, they end with strong fingers, at the end of which the main weapon of the sea otter is located - claws.

Fur in the animal is quite dense and thick. Due to this, it perfectly tolerates cold and frost. In addition, the ability to release grease on the surface of six allows the otter to keep the skin dry even while swimming underwater. As for the color of fur, the most common are brown individuals. However, within the colony there are rare specimens that are born with white-white wool.

Lifestyle

So, what are the habits of this animal? Kalan spends most of his time in the sea, only occasionally swim to land. As mentioned earlier, he has everything necessary for this: thick fur, a thick layer of fat and powerful paws equipped with membranes. More interesting is that the beast can not only freely swim, but also sleep on the water. To do this, he turns over on his back and peacefully lies on the surface. And so that the sea current does not take him far from the shore, the sea otter is wrapped in algae, which serve him as a kind of anchor.

Despite the passionate love of the sea, animals can long enough to be on land. Most often on the beach, they are selected in cold weather, so as not to waste extra energy on maintaining the heat in the icy water. In this case, the animals try to settle on the rocky coastal zones. This is necessary in order to hide among the stones from people. After all, man is the main enemy of sea otters.

But with friendly neighbors, they are friends. They can often be found in the company of seals, walruses and even birds.

Ration

It's a beast of prey. Kalan skillfully hunts fish and shellfish, grabbing them afloat with tenacious paws. In addition, he likes to catch sea urchins and crabs. With the latter, the beast is straightened by stones: a strong shell can not be bitten by teeth, and therefore it breaks it with hard objects.

Hunt otans mainly in the afternoon. However, if necessary, they can easily go to find food at night. True, in this case they will rather comb the coastline rather than go for the catch in the water. After all, they do not need eyesight - they can well count on a good nose.

On the verge of extinction

Today sea otters are listed in the Red Book. The reason for this was the stupidity of man. In the XVII-XIX centuries hunters from all over the world came to the Northern latitudes in order to get a valuable fur of an animal. Because of this, by the beginning of the 20th century, the population of animals decreased by more than 80%, which could lead to complete extinction of the species.

The benefit of environmental organizations in time stopped the outrage. Now the number of sea otters is gradually rising. However, it is still early to speak of a complete victory because, due to global warming, this species will soon run into a new, no less dangerous disaster.