Otter Facts Cuter Than You Think

Otters are one of the cutest animals on Earth. With their round heads, long bodies, and short legs, they can make even the grumpiest people coo and awe. Most people, however, don't know that there's so much more to these adorable creatures than their cuddly appearance. Aside from being incredibly cute, otters are also one of the fastest, strongest, and smartest predators in the world. If you're interested in learning more, then keep on watching for some otter facts. Don't forget to like and subscribe for more neat facts to discover the world one click at a time. 1. The name otter comes from an old English word. Otor or otter is an old English word that originates from the same root word as water. It is a fitting name for this creature that loves to live near water. Other names for otters, specifically male otters, are boars and dogs. Meanwhile, female otters are called sows or bitches, and baby otters are pups. 2. Otters belong to the family Mustelidae. The Mustelidae family is also known as the weasel family, and members of this family are called mustelids. Mustelids first started evolving around 40 million years ago, making them one of the oldest carnivorous mammals on Earth. Aside from otters, some other mustelids are weasels, honey badgers, and skunks. Most mustelids have thick fur and long bodies with short legs. 3. Sea otters are the heaviest mustelids. Sea otters are usually around 3.3 feet long. Their body weight can range from 55 pounds to 99 pounds. Despite being the heaviest mustelids, they are still the smallest among other marine mammals. On the other hand, giant river otters or simply giant otters can grow up to 5.6 feet long. Their maximum body weight, however, is only up to 71 pounds. 4. As their name suggests, sea otters mostly live near water. Around 90% of them live near the Alaskan coast. However, you will also find the otters living in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. 5. Most otters spend most of their time on land. Not all otter species like water over land. Aside from sea otters, most of them spend their time on dry land. They only dive into the water to travel or hunt for food. Otherwise, staying in the water too long can clog their dense fur. 6. Otters are excellent hunters in water. They have webbed feet and muscular tails, which help them swim fast. In fact, otters are incredibly agile swimmers. Giant river otters can swim up to a speed of 8.7 miles per hour. That's twice as fast as Michael Phelps, the fastest human swimmer. 7. Otters can also hold their breaths underwater for a long time. When diving, otters close their ears and nostrils so water won't get in. They can also hold their breath underwater so they can chase prey for a period of time. Sea otters in particular can hold their breath underwater for 5 minutes. River otters, on the other hand, can manage up to 8 minutes underwater without breathing. Otters have a lung capacity that is 2.5 times greater than other mammals of the same size. 8. They also have a great sense of smell even underwater. For most mammals, smelling things underwater is not possible. Smelling things underwater would cause them to inhale water, and this can cause them to drown. Some otters, on the other hand, can exhale air bubbles from their nose while capturing the smell inside the air bubbles. This helps them smell their prey while they hunt underwater. 9. Sometimes, sea otters will sleep on the water by floating on their backs. The waves, especially at night, can cause them to drift apart. To avoid floating away from each other, sea otters will hold each other's front paws while sleeping. 10. Sea otters sleep together in groups. When it's bedtime, sea otters look for other otters of the same sex. Together, they form groups for the night. These groups can be referred to as romps, bevies, or families. If the group is sleeping on the water, however, they are called a raft. A single raft can hold 10 to 100 otters of the same sex. The rafts of male otters are usually bigger than female rafts, with the largest recorded raft holding over 2,000 otters. 11. Otters are cuddly animals who like to snuggle. Otters with smooth furs like to rub their bodies against one another, usually in pairs or groups. This act is similar to how humans snuggle with each other. Like humans, snuggling helps otters strengthen their social bonds. It also helps refresh their fur coats. 12. Otters are among the few animals who can use tools. Alongside chimpanzees, crows, and elephants, otters also know how to use tools. Otters don't have strong jaws like other predators. To make up for this, they use rocks as hammers to crack open the shells of mollusks, crabs, and other prey. 13. A rescue otter once learned how to use inhalers. At the Seattle Aquarium, a rescue sea otter named Mishka was diagnosed with asthma. Aside from being the first sea otter to ever be diagnosed with asthma, Mishka is also the only one to ever learn how to use an inhaler originally designed for cats. 14. They also know how to store items under their arms. Otters know how useful tools can be, so they often keep their rocks for convenience. They have a loose patch of skin under their arms that can act as pockets for tools and also food. Because the pocket offers them secure storage, an otter might keep and only use one rock throughout its life. 15. Otters are playful creatures. Otters like to play with each other as a form of socialization and entertainment. There are many activities otters like to do to fool around. Some make water slides while some like to shuffle or juggle rocks. Otters even wrestle with each other for fun. 16. Compared to other mammals, otters have the densest fur. Many mustelids have thick fur and the otter is one of them. In fact, otters have the densest fur. They can have around 800,000 to 1 million individual hairs per square inch. Their fur also has two layers, which can repel water and even trap air underneath it. Because of this, their bodies can stay dry and warm. The air underneath their fur also helps them stay afloat. 17. Otters take their grooming very seriously. Given how thick their fur is, otters need to groom very thoroughly. Otters have loose skin and they are flexible enough to reach every nook and cranny of their bodies. An otter might look like it's merely scratching its skin, but it is actually untangling knots from its fur. Mother otters will usually help groom their pups by blowing on their fur. This helps keep pups warm and buoyant. Sea otters also like to roll around the water to wash out any leftover food from their fur. 18. Baby otters don't know how to swim. Like other marine mammals, sea otters can spend their lives without ever moving to dry land. However, even if sea otters are born in water, they don't inherently know how to swim. For around 6 to 12 months, their mothers have to carry them on their stomachs. All the while, the mother teaches her pup all the skills it needs to survive. 19. Mother otters use kelp to help keep their babies from floating away. Since baby sea otters don't know how to swim, they don't know how to hunt for themselves either. Furthermore, baby sea otters are also prone to floating away because of the tide. Mother sea otters hunt for their babies' food. While they go diving, they wrap their pups in kelp to keep them from floating away. This is also a practice for some adult sea otters who need to rest. While resting or eating, adult sea otters use kelp to stay stationary. 20. Your pet cat's poop can be dangerous to an otter. Not all cat poop is dangerous, but the ones that contain Toxoplasma gondii or T. gondii are. This is a strain of parasite that can poison otters. In a study where scientists were researching sea otters, 12 out of 116 subjects died from T. gondii. This parasite can also harm other animals and humans, so it's important to clean your cat's litter box as often as possible. 21. Giant river otters are sociable creatures. Most otter species prefer to hunt alone, but giant river otters are an exception. They hunt in packs and also live in groups with their extended families. Most giant river otter groups comprise 4 to 8 members, but larger families can have up to 20 otters. Just like humans, their families are tight-knit, and they do almost everything together including hunting, sleeping, and playing. Giant river otters also have hierarchies in their families. 22. Giant otters are also the most vocal otter species. They use complex vocalizations to communicate with each other. Giant otters can produce 20 different types of vocalizations, and each type relays a different message. Barking and whistling, for example, communicate different things. Another interesting fact is that giant otter families each have their own unique sound signatures, so families can communicate better with each other. 23. Male otters sometimes kidnap baby otters for ransom. Baby sea otters are often left alone on the surface while their mothers dive underwater to hunt for food. Sometimes male otters would kidnap the pups and hold them hostage until the mother comes back. In some cases, male otters might even hold the pup's head underwater until the mother gives them food. 24. The mating ritual of sea otters can sometimes be dangerous. Sea otters mate in the water, and it lasts for around 10 to 30 minutes. While mating, male sea otters get aggressive, and they sometimes hold female sea otters underwater until the mating is done. Some female otters drown and eventually die from this, while others usually suffer deep wounds and scars from the male otter's aggressive biting. Unfortunately, this mating behavior is common in sea otters, and around 11% of sea otter deaths result from this. 25. Otters are so strong that they can even overpower alligators. Giant sea otters hunt in groups, so they can overpower a lot of larger predators like anacondas and alligators. However, even by its lonesome, a giant sea otter can still go up against an alligator and win. Giant sea otters have greater stamina than alligators, and prolonged threshing can cause lactic acid buildup in alligators. This can paralyze alligators, and in that state, it isn't too long before giant otters use their teeth and claws to feed on the alligator. 26. Some cultures view otters as tricksters. In Japanese culture, otters are likened to foxes and tanuki. They view otters as tricksters who can deceive human beings. A popular belief in Japan is that otters can shapeshift into children or beautiful women, and they do so in order to lure and kill men. 27. Other cultures depict otters as sacred creatures. The religion of Zoroastrianism, for example, believes that otters belong to the deity Ahura Mazda. Disrespecting otters would be equivalent to disrespecting their deity, and killing otters is downright taboo. If a believer accidentally killed an otter, they would have to atone by killing 10,000 frogs, 10,000 snakes, and more. 28. Otter fishing is a practice where otters help fishermen with their catch. This practice dates back to the 6th century, and to this day, it continues to be a popular fishing method all over the world, especially in southern Bangladesh. In otter fishing, the otters chase fish and lead them into the nets. After the fish get caught, the fishermen would then retrieve the nets. Otters are also paid for their hard work with some fish. 29. Sea otters play an important role in the ecosystem. Sea urchins love to feed on the stems of kelp, and if left unchecked, they could potentially cause kelp plants to die off. Thankfully, sea otters help maintain the balance by feeding on sea urchins. This helps keep coastal areas from losing their biodiversity. 30. Otters can also help control climate change. Like trees, kelp soaks up carbon dioxide. In fact, kelp forests can bring down the atmosphere's carbon dioxide content up to 10 billion tons a year. Since sea otters prevent sea urchins from eating up all the kelp, they indirectly help relieve the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Otters are as important as they are cute. They help keep the balance of the ecosystem, and they do so while snuggling and protecting each other. To keep these otters happy, it's important for their homes to be clean and safe from pollution, and that's where humans come in. Let's do our part in keeping our waters and land clean and green. For more facts and videos, visit our YouTube channel for more facts videos.