What Are Sea Otters?
Sea otters are marine mammals that live in coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean.[1] They are classified as follows: Kingdom-Animalia, Phylum: Chorodata, Class-Mammalia, Order-Carnivora, Family-Mustelidae, Genus-Enhydra, Species-lutris, making there scientific name Enhydra lutris.[2] Measuring only 4 feet long and weighing on average between 50-60 pounds, sea otters are the smallest marine mammals in North America.[3] Since they are considered carnivores their diet consists of over 40 marine invertebrates including crabs, lobster, sea urchins and there favorite, abalone.[4] Sea otters have been known to act omnivorous in times of low food supply, meaning that they will also eat plants, such as kelp. One interesting thing about sea otters is that they are one of the only marine animals to use tools in order to eat their food. When the sea otters return to the surface with their prey they will lie on their backs, place the food on their chests and break open the prey using a rock or bottle
Sea otters are marine mammals that live in coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean.[1] They are classified as follows: Kingdom-Animalia, Phylum: Chorodata, Class-Mammalia, Order-Carnivora, Family-Mustelidae, Genus-Enhydra, Species-lutris, making there scientific name Enhydra lutris.[2] Measuring only 4 feet long and weighing on average between 50-60 pounds, sea otters are the smallest marine mammals in North America.[3] Since they are considered carnivores their diet consists of over 40 marine invertebrates including crabs, lobster, sea urchins and there favorite, abalone.[4] Sea otters have been known to act omnivorous in times of low food supply, meaning that they will also eat plants, such as kelp. One interesting thing about sea otters is that they are one of the only marine animals to use tools in order to eat their food. When the sea otters return to the surface with their prey they will lie on their backs, place the food on their chests and break open the prey using a rock or bottle
