Table of Contents
River Otter Facts
What are some fun facts about river otters?
Did you know?
- River otters can hold their breath for up to 8 minutes while under water.
- River otters spend two-thirds of the time on land.
- Otters always wash themselves after every meal.
- The otter is the largest member of the weasel family.
- River otters can dive to a depth of 60 feet.
- Baby otters are called pups.
What eats a river otter?
Bobcats, alligators, coyotes, raptors, and other large predators will sometimes prey on North American river otters.
How fast can river otters swim?
They can dive to 60 feet deep and swim a quarter mile before coming up for air. They may swim as fast as 6-7 miles per hour. How long can a river otter hold its breath? More than 4 minutes, with some estimates reaching as high as 8 minutes.
What are river otters known for?
9 Amazing Facts About River Otters
- River Otters Are Not Sea Otters. …
- They Are Strong Swimmers. …
- They Can Also Walk on Land. …
- River Otters Are Social Creatures. …
- They Build Cozy Dens. …
- River Otters Are Both Predator and Prey. …
- They Have Bone-Crushing Teeth. …
- They Are an Indicator Species.
How long can river otters stay underwater?
Don’t challenge otters to a breath holding competition.
Sea otters have been known to stay submerged for more than 5 minutes at a time. River otters, however, can hold their breath for up to 8 minutes.
How well do otters see?
Highly light-sensitive rods (in blue) dominate the retina relative to cones (in green). In ideal conditions in air, sea otters can see about as clearly as seals, sea lions, and walruses [12-22], which is about 7x less clear than humans with 20/20 vision.
Where do river otters sleep at night?
Sleep. Freshwater otters generally rest and sleep on land, either above ground or in dens.
Where do river otters make their nests?
North American river otters build dens in the burrows of other mammals, in natural hollows, such as under a log, or in river banks. Dens have underwater entrances and a tunnel leading to a nest chamber that is lined with leaves, grass, moss, bark, and hair.
What is a group of river otters called?
A group of otters on land is called a romp. A group of otters in the water is called a raft. Otters have webbed feet that make them excellent swimmers. There are 13 different types of otters, all different sizes and shapes.
What are baby otters called?
Baby otters, called pups or kittens, stay with their mothers until they’re up to a year old, or until she has another litter. River otters don’t breed until they’re at least five years old.
Where do otters go in the winter?
They are primarily nocturnal, but become more diurnal in winter, meaning they are active during the day and sleep at night. River otters use openings in the ice, and will sometimes even break through beaver dams, to gain access to rivers and other waters. They can also slide across the ice to get where they need to go.
What does a otter eat?
River otters’ diets consist largely of crayfishes, crabs, and other aquatic invertebrates; fishes; and frogs. Despite concern that otters compete with game fishers, the fishes that otters consume are mainly non-game species. Otters may also occasionally prey on birds, rabbits, and rodents.
How smart are river otters?
River Otters are very intelligent and curious animals. They have well developed hearing and sense of smell. They spend most of their day foraging and exploring their home range.
How big do river otters get?
Do river otters chew trees?
They use their constantly growing incisors gnaw off sticks and limbs, then peel their outer bark, leaving characteristic marks on the wood. Otters are carnivores. River otters pursue and capture crayfish, fish (primarily non-game fish), frogs and salamanders, turtles and large invertebrates.
Why do otters show their babies when in danger?
Although sea otters are very protective for their babies, but they also tend to use their babies as a defensive mechanism. A sea otter tends to show its baby to a predator so that the predator might feel compassion for them.
Are otters friendly to humans?
Otters are not friendly to humans.
And just like any other wild carnivores, they are not very friendly. Still, it’s very hard to spot one in the wild as they tend to avoid being near people. What is this? Otters as pets, however, can be friendly with the owners.
How far do river otters travel on land?
They hunt singly or in pairs and although otters generally forage in water, they are equally at home on land, sometimes traveling between 10 and 18 miles (16 and 29 kilometers) in search of food.
Are otters color blind?
Behavioral and anatomical studies conducted with three species of otters suggests that they have dichromatic color vision.
Do otters keep rocks?
Under each forearm are baggy pockets of loose skin. The sea otter uses these pockets to store food it has gathered. It also stores favorite rocks that it uses for cracking open mollusks and clams.
Can river otters see in the dark?
River otters possess specialized vision that enables them to view potential meals while swimming in dark and unclear waters.
What time of day are river otters most active?
Otters can hold their breath for 8 minutes. Their fur repels water. Otters are most active at night and at dawn and dusk.
Do otters poop in the water?
To keep things tidy, humans have developed special rooms and solitary rituals for pooping. But for some animals, pooping is a social event. Instead of water closets, North American river otters like to poop in piles near the water, called latrines.
How can we help river otters?
In honor of World Otter Day, May 25, here is a list of 25 things large and small you can do to help protect otters.
- KNOW YOUR WATERSHED! Choose a nearby stream, lake or marsh. …
- VOTE VOTE VOTE. and speak out, both locally and nationally. …
- PICK UP TRASH. and dispose of it properly. …
- DRIVE SLOWLY.
Do river otters lay eggs?
The lifespan of a female otter is 15 to 20 years and of a male otter is 10 to 15 years. They do not lay eggs and instead give birth to their young ones, mostly in spring.
How far do otters travel?
Otters can travel over large areas. Some are known to use 20 kilometres or more of river habitat. Otters deposit faeces (known as spraints, with a characteristic sweet musky odour) in prominent places around their ranges.
How did an otter get in my pond?
Otters are frequently found in and around ponds created by beavers, and have been known to kick beavers out of their lodge and take it as their own home.
How do otters sleep?
They either sleep in dens or above the ground. They can also sleep in the water, where they lay on their backs on the surface. When sleeping in the sea, otters will usually sleep in kelp strands, which keeps them from drifting too far.
Do otters need water to live?
No, otters can’t live on land exclusively. They can survive on land, however, water is necessary for their existence. Some otter species will come on land to travel, eat, or groom their fur. Yet, otters to a large degree depend on the water, so living on land only is not possible.
Are otters aggressive?
Otters live near lakes or ponds and burrow in ditches, so interaction with people can occur. With their sweet appearance and playful nature, it may seem impossible that otters are dangerous. However, otters can be aggressive when necessary. The animals sometimes even hunt snakes to supplement their usual diet of fish.
How long are otters pregnant?
Can otters swim at birth?
Sea otter pups may begin to swim and take solid food at about four weeks, and dive at six weeks. Pups remain dependent on their mothers for an average of six months.
Are otters dogs?
Order – Carnivora
The scientific order Carnivora includes all mammals belonging to the dog, cat, and bear families, as well as raccoons and otters.
How cold can otters survive?
Sea otters live in chilly waters that can reach temperatures of 32 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Typically, mammals that live in this type of environment withstand the cold through blubber or being big.
Can otters swim under ice?
An otter can swim away under the ice, perhaps coming up nearly a quarter of a mile away. They can submerge for as long as four minutes and also make use of the small air pockets sometimes trapped between the water surface and the ice covering.
How do river otters stay warm?
To stay warm in such cold water, the otters’ fur has long strong outer hairs called guard hairs. The guard hairs are hollow and have scales, almost like a snake’s scales. They help keep densely packed finer hairs called underfur dry.
How long do otters sleep?
Otters spend eleven hours a day resting and sleeping. Except for some that stake out breeding territories and live alone, male sea otters tend to rest and sleep in rafts. Rafts range from two to 60 or 100 animals.
Do river otters use rocks?
And river otters love to play on slippery rocks or ideally, snow banks, which they will body-surf down the length of, running back up to the top to do it all again. Their antics appear on memes, go viral, and can definitely make you smile, but looks can be deceiving.
Do otters leave fish heads?
Otter kills of fish are often seen as a characteristic V shaped bite just behind the gills and in the throat area to access the vital organs. They will also take the complete head off of smaller fish and damage tails (usually as a result of chasing them).
What would happen if river otters went extinct?
They eat sea urchins and other invertebrates that graze on giant kelp. Without sea otters, these grazing animals can destroy kelp forests and consequently the wide diversity of animals that depend upon kelp habitat for survival.
Will otters hurt dogs?
Interactions between sea otters and dogs should never be allowed. A dog can harass or injure a sea otter, and a habituated sea otter can easily kill a dog, whether in play or out of aggression.
Can otters playing basketball?
Can otters climb trees?
On land, river otters are agile, can run quickly and climb trees. They’re small and narrow-bodied, with longer back legs than forelegs, so they move with a humping gait.
How long is a river otter?
How does a river otter swim?
Swimming Abilities
These otters swim by propelling themselves with their powerful tails and flexing their long bodies. They also have webbed feet, water repellent fur to keep them dry and warm, and nostrils and ears that close in the water. They remain active in winter, using ice holes to surface and breathe.
Do river otters swim in the ocean?
Swimming Style
Found in both saltwater and freshwater, a river otter lounges around riverbanks and swims with its belly down, keeping the majority of its body submerged below the water. Sea otters, conversely, are found only in salt water and rarely go on land.
Do otters eat cats?
The second part of the outdoor cat predator problem is that cats are themselves prey. They will be killed by coyotes, eagles, owls, raccoons, dogs and otters. Two cats were killed by an otter when the cats got to close to their nest.
