sea otter facts

The Only Mammal without Blubber
Physical Details
- General
- Feet
- Coloring
- Nose
- Habitat
- Other Names


Did you know....
....that the sea otter is the only marine mammal without blubber?

Not only is this true, but the sea otter is the only marine member of the entire weasel family that hasn't been wiped out!

What's so incredible about otters is that, unlike most marine mammals, they rely on their fur (as opposed to blubber) to keep them warm and buoyant. The fur, which has 500,000 hairs per square inch (more than most dogs have on their entire body), is so thick that it captures microscopic bubbles that form a layer of air against the sea otter's skin. This keeps the otter floating its skin dry. However, otters must constantly groom to keep it clean, because once dirty, the fur can no longer trap air bubbles to keep them floating. This is why oil spills are especially dangerous to otters - most drown because they can't clean out the oil.

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Physical Details

Sea otters have extremely good senses - good eyesight above and bellow water, an amazing sense of smell, and very good hearing. Male otters usually weigh 65 pounds, while females average around 45. They have internal ears, much like a sea lions', with excellent hearing capability. Their front paws are much like a cat's - they have retractable claws used for grooming and eating. The sea otter's whiskers, often bushy and thickly crammed into a small space of the otter's head, detect vibrations in the water to help the sea otter know where it is and what's around them. One other fascinating fact is that sea otters have lungs 2.5 times larger than land mammals of the same size!

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