I would like to dedicate a post to sea otters (scientific name: Enhydra lutris) as I have nothing that exciting worth mentioning in my life at the moment. Sea otters are a keystone creature in the marine ecosystem. They feed on shellfish, such as abalone, and other marine invertebrates including small octopus. Their predators include killer whales, sea lions, and humans. They were once extremely endangered. There were like 1,000 or 2,000 of them but now there are over 150,000 sea otters alive. They inhabit the coastal regions of the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. They spend most of their time in water and can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes. They have two layers of fur that is not only water repellent, but traps warm air bubbles to help them stay warm. One of the more unique aspects of sea otters compared to other marine mammals, is that they have no blubber. Their skin is extremely light weight, and the trapping of air bubbles helps them keep afloat in the waters to allow them to groom, eat, and even sleep.
They even hold hands! (sooo cute! thanks for showing me this video nicole)
So you may be wondering how I know all this information, and its because I had to do a paper on them this weekend for my Introduction to Physiology Class :)
1 comment:
sea otters are the cutest things :3
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