www.doingbusinessinhomer.com

Sea otters are members of the weasel family. Most people think of weasels as a nuisance, but when thinking of sea otters the opposite is true. How could these cute creatures be a nuisance. There are many interesting and fun facts about the sea otter.

- The sea otter has the densest fur of any animal on earth — over 600,000 hairs in a square inch. They do not use blubber to stay warm like other mammals do, but rather rely on their fur. Their fur also contains oil that makes them somewhat waterproof, and it traps air bubbles between their skin and the fur, which helps them stay warm.

- There are two distinct groups of sea otters in North America; there are the California sea otters and the Alaska sea otters.

- Sea Otters spend half of the hours during the day grooming themselves. They use their claws to comb through their fur. afterward they smooth their fur by rolling in the water.

- Sea otters do almost everything on their backs, from sleeping and swimming to resting. This is one of the major differences between California and Alaska sea otters: California otters stay in the water almost all the time, while Alaskan ones groom and sleep on land.

- Sea otters are one of the animals most vulnerable when there is an oil spill. If an otter swims through oil, their fur becomes no longer insulated. Eventually this allows water to penetrate their fur, causing them to freeze and die.

Sea otters are one of the cutest, sweetest, and most entertaining sea animals. Hopefully they will be around for a long time for everyone to enjoy.

No Comments »