Do sea otters live alone or in groups?
Sea otters live in loose-knit groups called rafts. Rafts typically consist of two or more resting otters. Otters in rafts often sleep side-by-side, wrapped up in strands of kelp, so that they don’t drift far from each other. Males and females usually live in separate groups. Females have small home territories; they and their pups may gather in large groups. Mature males protect large territories, encompassing the territories of several females. Males and females form breeding pairs for only a short time, usually only three to five days. After this, the male moves on to look for other receptive females and the female raises the pup on her own. On the outskirts of the range are rafts of bachelor males, too young or too old to hold their own territories.
