What’s an Otter?

North American River Otter

Our Otter is a North American River Otter.  Just as his name says he can be found in North America near the water.  River Otters can be found in waterways around the Pacific Northwest, the Atlantic states, the Gulf of Mexico, and in Canada.

The otter is a mammal and is a member of the weasel family.  They are very adept to land or water.  Otters live in burrows close to waters edge by a river, lake, or swamp.

River otters like to eat fish the most.  But they also will eat turtles, frogs, and crawfish.

Otters are very active all through the year and in the day and night.  They are most active at night.

Otters are very social animals and live together in families.  They are also very playful.  Their favorite thing to do is to wrestle or play chase.  It is fun to watch them play with each other and chase each other in and out of the water.

Another type of otter is the Sea Otter

Sea Otter

Sea Otters can be found on the coasts of the North Pacific Ocean.  They are the heaviest of the weasel family but the smallest marine mammal.  The sea otter’s coat of fur is the densest in the animal kingdom.

Sea otters can walk on land but prefer to be in the water.  They  like to hunt for food in the water.  They eat things like sea urchins, mollusks, and crustaceans.  They do like some types of fish also.

Sea otters are not usually found in families like the river otters.  You will see a mother and her pup but not groups.  The only time you see adult sea otters together is when they sleep together in a group called a raft.  They also wrap themselves in seaweed to so they don’t  drift out to sea.

Sea Otters were very heavily hunted for their furs.  There are not many left and they are on the endangered species list.

So there you have it.  Information on what exactly is an otter.  We think they are cute and fun to watch.  Our favorite otter is this one: