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The average weight for adult sea otters that are in more densely populated areas, at 28.3 kg (62 lb) in males and 21.1 kg (47 lb) in females, was considerably lighter than the average weight of otters in more sparse populations, at 39.3 kg (87 lb) in males and 25.2 kg (56 lb) in females [5] Presumably less populous otters are more able to ...
Sea otter conservation began in the early 20th century, when the sea otter was nearly extinct due to large-scale commercial hunting. The sea otter was once abundant in a wide arc across the North Pacific ocean, from northern Japan to Alaska to Mexico. By 1911, hunting for the animal's luxurious fur had reduced the sea otter population to fewer ...
A sea otter using a rock to break open a shell. The sea otter, Enhydra lutris, is a member of the Mustelidae that is fully aquatic. Sea otters are the smallest of the marine mammals, but they are also the most dexterous. Sea otters are known for their ability to use stones as anvils or hammers to facilitate access to hard-to-reach prey items.
Otters are amongst most playful of mammals. They frolic with each other, swim, dive, and slide. Anyone who has watched otters entertaining themselves, either in a zoo or in the wild, know it doesn ...
Furthermore, sea otters will use large stones to pry an abalone off its rock; they will hammer the abalone shell with observed rates of 45 blows in 15 seconds or 180 rpm, and do it in two or three dives. Releasing an abalone, which can cling to rock with a force equal to 4,000 times its own body weight, requires multiple dives by the otter. [102]
Every year, around 10 to 15 sea otter pups are found stranded off the California coast, often due to storms that separate mother and offspring. The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is ...
The sea otter was observed approaching people in late 2021. Last May, she was spotted with a pup in the Santa Cruz area and four months later exhibited similar aggressive behavior.
By the end of the 19th century, California sea otters had been hunted to near extinction. The US government began to manage sea otter as a valuable natural resource in 1911. However, due to the previous two centuries of unregulated exploitation of the species, it was uncertain whether they would be able to revive the population. [3]