Would an Alaskan sea otter fit in in California?
Maegan Reid, Melissa Dragon, Jodie Calain A paper for MSCI 375, Biology of Marine Mammals, submitted December 2, 1998 The sea otter, Enhydra lutris is adapted to living in the coastal waters of the north Pacific and can spend their whole life at sea, only coming ashore during storms. The sea otters belong to the group of carnivores called the Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, skunks, and badgers. It is one of the smallest species of marine mammals (VanBlaircom and Estes, 1990). They have blunt heads, with short, thick necks. There is no blubber beneath the skin, and they are adept swimmers and divers. They have folded valve-like ears, loose skin with dense fur, and retractable front claws. Their tail is short, straight, and flattened with a rounded tip (Paine and Foott, 1993). Sea otters are the only carnivore that have four incisor teeth in its lower jaw, but rely predominantly on molars for crushing shellfish (Sea Otter Information,1998). They eat, sleep, and rest while floati
