River Otters of Alaska

By: Michael Russell
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:26:59
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River otters are amphibious animals that are related to the weasel family; sea otters are their cousins, along with mink and wolverines. A river otter has a strong neck and a jaw that is capable of cracking shells of crustaceans plus teeth for ripping meat. An otter has a long narrow body with short legs and webbed hind feet. The otter's tail is also useful; it is powerful and it pushes the otter from side to side while swimming. The river otter has a soft pelt that it grooms itself; sometimes another otter helps with the grooming, while in a social group. Its thick undercoat is the bulk of the fur and it has a thinner guard coat on the outside. Its whiskers help sense obstacles while swimming or while on land. Hearing and smelling are otters' best senses and sight is the poorest; they can see a bit better while underwater.

A river otters weigh up to 40 pounds; however, their cousin the sea otter can reach over 100 pounds. Female otters are about a quarter smaller than males and can reach up to 30 pounds. Otters live to be 20 years old both in captivity and in the wild.

Otters live throughout North America and have the ability to hunt in saltwater or freshwater. Many are found in Alaska on the mainland, but few on the islands. Alaskans do not see them often; however, they leave evidence which lets people know they were around. Slide marks on riverbanks or sprays of urine help them mark their territories and communicate with other otters.

River otters are omnivores and they eat a variety of insects, birds, crustaceans, small mammals and plant matter. When an otter cannot finish eating its prey, it will leave the meal for other animals.

Otters are social animals that live in groups containing combinations of males and females. Some groups can have all males, males and females with pups, or females with pups from their current or previous litter. All of the otters are friends with one another and fights never occur within a group. Each otter goes out and finds its own meal, which helps reduce the risk of fights over food supplies. Both young and older otters like to play with each another by chasing, hiding, swimming and vocalizing; otters spend half their day playing and the other half sleeping. They sleep piled up on each other and once they are all awake, they begin grooming.

An otter is an excellent swimmer and diver; it can reach speeds up to 10 miles per hour while swimming on the surface or underwater. An otter will dive underwater for food and swim to 60 feet below the surface; it can remain there for several minutes. While on land, an otter has a great sprint speed, which reaches 20 miles per hour when it runs and slides. When an otter sees a human in the wild, it will run for cover and slide into the water. Humans are the main predators of otters due to trapping; they only have a few enemies in the wild, which are hawks or owls.

Article source: Expert Articles