Carlos E. Rio's: "Sea Otters of Alaska's Water's"

A blogger who worked at a cannnery for the summer watched asea otter all summer and this is what he wrote: "These guys eat 24/7. 7 AM, 7PM, 11 PM, there he is, eating!"

Well, they have to, 'cause they have no fat or blubber. They eat 1/4 their body weight in sea shells or cumcubers per day . Some say they weight up to 90 or 100 lbs. I think the bigger ones I see are closer to 70 lb...the size of a moderate Labrador Reteiver.

They do have 1 million hairs per square inch. That's what made their fur so warm and valuable to the Russians when they came over in the late 100s and early 1800's. And when they killed off the otters, they sold Alaska to the USA for about 2 cents per acre in the 1860's.

Take a look at their wide back flippers. This is what lets them swim all the time without getting tired. And when it's warm and sunny, they let the flippers out of the ater to catch some heat.

Pardon the advertisement at the end. Its a local company to which I have no relation (but do think they will give you a quite enjoyable tour). Thir picture does show you how the otter's fur repels the cold sea water. By the way, the loca waters are quite warm this year: 39 degrees as compared to Anchorage's 30 degrees (thanks to the warming effect of the Japanese current).

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Carlos E. Rio Sea Otter
• Kodiak
• Alaska