5. The longest recorded sea otter dive was 4 minutes, 2 and the deepest recorded sea otter dive was 318 feet (97 m) deep. The sea otter can usually be found in kelp beds, and looks very much like lumps of kelp. Ninety percent of the world’s sea otters live in coastal Alaska. Their tails are furred and muscular, broad at the base and narrow towards the tip. The sea otter can live its entire life without leaving the water. 6. 1. and are the smallest marine mammal in North America. Northern River Otters are aquatic members of the weasel family that live in Connecticut. Males weigh 22-45 kg and are 1.2-1.5 m in length. Sea otters are commonly spotted on WWF’s Alaska tours. 1. The tail comprises less than a third of the body length. Sea otters eat 25 percent of their body weight each day in sea urchins, crabs, clams, snails and other invertebrates. They can live eight to nine years in the wild but have lived up to 21 years in captivity. It prohibits commercial harvest of sea otters, and allows Alaska natives to hunt sea otters for subsistence and creation of handicrafts. The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family and the smallest marine mammal. An adult North American river otter can weigh between 5.0 and 14 kg (11.0 and 30.9 lb). Adult males reach an average length of 4.5 feet (1.4 m) with a typical weight between 50 and 100 lbs (23 to 45 kg), while adult females reach an average length of 4 feet (1.2 m) and typically weigh 45 lbs (20 kg). River otters generally live alone or in small social groups. Sea otters are carnivores in the family Mustelidae—a group of animals that also includes terrestrial and semi-aquatic forms such as weasels, badgers, skunks, fishers, minks, and river otters.Sea otters are the only fully aquatic form of otters, but they share features with the others such as thick fur and short ears. In order to maintain its body weight, a sea otter must eat 25% of its body weight per day. The Southcentral population spans from west of Glacier Bay to the eastern edge of Cook Inlet. River otters are found throughout most of North America from the Rio Grande to Canada and Alaska, except for in arid deserts and the treeless Arctic. 7. Otters have broad flattened heads and prominent whiskers. Tips for spotting a sea otter. The northern sea otter subspecies (E. lutris kenyoni), is found in the Aleutian Islands, Southern Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington. The river otter is protected and insulated by a thick, water-repellent coat of fur. Description . The Southeast stock can be found in the coastal waters of Southeast Alaska. North American river otters were hunted and trapped extensively for their fur in the 19th and 20th centuries, and are still hunted in some places. They live in riparian zones, often in the same areas as beavers. Ninety percent of the world’s sea otters live in Alaska’s coastal waters. They have webbed feet equipped with claws. Conservation. Sea otters use rocks to crack open their prey as fast as 45 blows in 15 seconds. The sea otter is one of the smallest marine mammals, but one of the largest members of the family Mustelidae, a group that includes skunks and weasels among others. The Marine Mammal Protection Act protects sea otters. Their aquatic habitats can be both marine and fresh … Their bodies are long and streamlined and their legs short. Within Alaska, there are 3 stocks. Sea otters, Enhydra lutris (Linnaeus, 1758), are the largest member of the Family Mustelidae (70 species of river otters, skunks, weasels, badgers, etc.) Sea otters have the densest hair coat of any mammal, with 800,000 to one million hairs per square inch. Females are slightly smaller, weighing 14-33 kg and measuring 1-1.4 m in length. For one of the smallest marine mammals on Earth (yet the largest member of the weasel family), the sea otter has racked up quite a few superlatives: 10. 9. 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