''Amblonyx''
''Aonyx''
''Enhydra''
''Lontra''
''Lutra''
''Lutrogale''
''Pteronura'' Otters are aquatic or marine carnivore mammals, members of the large and diverse Family (biology) Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, polecats, badger (animal)s and others. There are 13 species of otter in 7 genera, with a distribution that is almost worldwide. ==Physical characteristics== Otters have a dense layer 1,000 hairs/mm² (~650,000 hairs/in²) of very soft underfur which, protected by their outer layer of long guard hairs, keeps them dry under water and traps a layer of air to keep them warm. Unlike most marine mammals (Pinniped, for example, or whales), otters do not have a layer of insulating blubber, and even the marine sea otter must come ashore regularly to wash its coat in fresh water. All otters have long, slim, streamlined bodies of extraordinary grace and flexibility, and short limbs; in most cases the paws are webbed. Most have sharp claws to grasp prey but the short-clawed otter of southern Asia has just vestigal claws, and two closely related species of African otter have no claws at all: these species live in the often muddy rivers of Africa and Asia and locate their prey by touch. ==Diet== Fish is the primary item in the diet of most otters, supplemented by frogs, crayfish, and crabs; some have become expert at opening shellfish, and others will take any small mammals or birds that happen to be available. To survive in the cold waters where many otters live, the specialised fur is not enough: otters have very high metabolic rates and burn up energy at a profligate pace: Eurasian otters, for example, must eat 15% of their body weight a day; sea otters, 20 to 25%, depending on the temperature. In consequence, otters are very vulnerable to prey depletion: in water as warm as 10°C an otter needs to catch 100 g of fish per hour: less than that and it cannot survive. Most species hunt for 3 to 5 hours a day; nursing mothers up to 8 hours a day. ==Species== ===Northern River Otter=== The northern river otter (''Lontra canadensis'') was one of the major animals hunted and trapped for fur in North America after contact with Europeans. They are one of the most playful and active, making them a popular exhibit in zoos and aquaria, but unwelcome on agricultural land because they alter river banks for access, sliding, and defense. River otters eat a variety of fish and shellfish, as well as small land mammals and birds. They are 3 to 4 feet (1 m) in length and weigh from 10 to 30 pounds (5 to 15 kg). They were once found all over North America, but are rare or extinct in most places, although flourishing in some locations. Otters are a protected species in some areas and some places have otter sanctuaries. These sanctuaries help sick and hurt otters to recover. ===Sea Otter=== The sea otter ''Enhydra lutris'' is found along the Pacific coast of North America. Their historic range included shallow waters of the Bering Strait and Kamchatka, and as far south as Japan. Sea otters have 1 million hairs per square inch of skin, a rich fur for which they were hunted almost to extinction. By the time they were protected under the 1911 Fur Seal Treaty, there were so few sea otters left that the fur trade had become unprofitable. They eat shellfish and other invertebrates, and are frequently observed using rocks as crude tools to smash open shells. They are 2.5 to 6 feet (1 to 2 m) in length and weigh 25 to 60 pounds (30 kg). Although once near extinction, they have begun to spread again starting from the California coast. ===Maxwell's Otter=== A sub-species otter ''Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli'' (Maxwell's otter - named after British naturalist Gavin Maxwell) is thought to have lived in the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh of Iraq. It has been suggested that this may have become extinct as a result of the large scale drainage that has taken place since the 1960s. ==European Otters== Otters are also found in Europe. In the United Kingdom they were common as recently as the 1950s, but are now rare due to the former use of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides and as a result of habitat loss. Numbers reached a low point in the 1980s, but with the aid of a number of initiatives, by 1999 numbers were estimated to have recovered to just below 1,000 animals. Under the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan it is hoped that by 2010 the otter will have been reintroduced to all the UK rivers and coastal areas that it inhabited in 1960. Roadkill deaths are now one of the significant threats to their reintroduction. ==List of species== Genus Lutra *European Otter (''Lutra lutra'') *Hairy-nosed otter (''Lutra sumatrana'') Genus Hydrictis *Speckle-throated otter (''Hydrictis maculicollis'') Genus Lutrogale *Smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') Genus Lontra *Northern river otter (''Lontra canadensis'') *Southern river otter (''Lontra provocax'') *Long-tailed otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') *Marine otter (''Lontra felina'') Genus Pteronura *Giant otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') Genus Aonyx *African clawless otter (''Aonyx capensis'') *Congo clawless otter (''Aonyx congicus'') Genus Amblonyx *Oriental small-clawed otter (''Amblonyx cinereus'') Genus Enhydra *Sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') ==External links== *[http://www.otter.org/ International Otter Survival Fund] *[http://www.otternet.com/index.htm Otternet] Mustelids
Cut from main page: ''Males kidnap pups from mothers to use as extortion for food. Rough sex that often kills female. Pups steal food from mother. Do not react well with crude oil. Beneficial for kelp beds and natural fish nurseries. Bad for sea urchins and shellfishermen. Tie themselves up in kelp to keep from floating away while sleeping. They are the newly discovered favorite snack of orca.'' This is a mix of questionable assertions (kidnapping pups, tying themselves up in kelp) and weird phrasing ("do not react well with crude oil"). Someone needs to verify (or refute) the odder bits, and rephrase the rest. I'll try to get to it soon, but can't promise anything. user:Vicki Rosenzweig Vicki, others, I added a bit here about size, weight, agricultural damage. I think the kelp bed/shellfish issues should be included. Don't know about the "rough sex", etc. I do wonder at the implication that the native Americans did *not* use otter fur. User:Ortolan88 ---- Many more otters were trapped after European contact, for export. On weight, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages sea otters in Alaska, has very different size numbers than you found: http://www.state.ak.us/local/akpages/FISH.GAME/notebook/marine/seaotter.htm says adult males are generally 70-90 pounds, some up to 100, and adult females generally 40-60 pounds. What's the source for your numbers? (The Alaska page is a few years old, but this doesn't seem like something that would change rapidly). I seem to have some free time, so will try to find more info about otters generally, including their mating. user:Vicki Rosenzweig ---- Please! Someone who knows how images are handled in wikipedia articles, fix the ending of the article! -- User:Cimon avaro 12:56, Dec 15, 2003 (UTC) ---- "as far south as Japan" -- anybody know which part of Japan? Japan is a very long country... it stretches far north enough that it has some standing territorial disputes with Russia, and clusters of islands in Okinawa to the south are on the same latitude as Taipei. -- User:Mote 03:31, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC) ---- Help someone revert the latest vandal! He's added spurious crap to the infos! -User:68.39.174.205 11:12, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Otter:
Otter
Otter
Otterbein
Otterbein,_IN
Otterbein,_Indiana
Otterbein_College
Otterberg
Otterbourne
Otterey_St_Mary
Ottergoose
Ottergoose
Otterhound
Otterhound
Otterlo
Otterloo
Otterloo,_Netherlands
Otters
Ottersum
Ottertail
Ottertail,_Minnesota
Ottertail,_MN
Otterthal
Otterton_Mill
Otterup
Otterup
Otterup_municipal
Otterup_municipality
Otterville
Otterville,_IA
Otterville,_IL
Otterville,_Illinois
Otterville,_Iowa
Otterville,_Missouri
Otterville,_MO
Ottery
Ottery_St._Mary
Ottery_St_Catchpole
Ottery_St_Mary
Otter_(disambiguation)
Otter_(software)
Otter_Civet
Otter_Creek
Otter_Creek,_Dunn_County,_WI
Otter_Creek,_Dunn_County,_Wisconsin
Otter_Creek,_Eau_Claire_County,_WI
Otter_Creek,_Eau_Claire_County,_Wisconsin
Otter_Creek,_FL
Otter_Creek,_Florida
Otter_Creek,_WI
Otter_Creek,_Wisconsin
Otter_Creek_Park
Otter_Creek_Township,_PA
Otter_Creek_Township,_Pennsylvania
Otter_Island
Otter_island_(fictional)
Otter_Lake
Otter_Lake,_MI
Otter_Lake,_Michigan
Otter_pop
Otter_Pops
Otter_River
Otter_Tail
Otter_Tail_County
Otter_Tail_County,_Minnesota
Otter_Tail_County,_Minnesota
Otter_Tail_County,_Minnesota
Otter_Tail_County,_MN
Otter_Tail_Peninsula
Otter_Tail_Peninsula_Township,_Minnesota
Otter_Tail_Peninsula_Township,_MN
Otter_Tail_Township,_Minnesota
Otter_Tail_Township,_MN
Otter_theorem_prover
Otter_theorem_prover
Otter
''Amblonyx''
''Aonyx''
''Enhydra''
''Lontra''
''Lutra''
''Lutrogale''
''Pteronura'' Otters are aquatic or marine carnivore mammals, members of the large and diverse Family (biology) Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, polecats, badger (animal)s and others. There are 13 species of otter in 7 genera, with a distribution that is almost worldwide. ==Physical characteristics== Otters have a dense layer 1,000 hairs/mm² (~650,000 hairs/in²) of very soft underfur which, protected by their outer layer of long guard hairs, keeps them dry under water and traps a layer of air to keep them warm. Unlike most marine mammals (Pinniped, for example, or whales), otters do not have a layer of insulating blubber, and even the marine sea otter must come ashore regularly to wash its coat in fresh water. All otters have long, slim, streamlined bodies of extraordinary grace and flexibility, and short limbs; in most cases the paws are webbed. Most have sharp claws to grasp prey but the short-clawed otter of southern Asia has just vestigal claws, and two closely related species of African otter have no claws at all: these species live in the often muddy rivers of Africa and Asia and locate their prey by touch. ==Diet== Fish is the primary item in the diet of most otters, supplemented by frogs, crayfish, and crabs; some have become expert at opening shellfish, and others will take any small mammals or birds that happen to be available. To survive in the cold waters where many otters live, the specialised fur is not enough: otters have very high metabolic rates and burn up energy at a profligate pace: Eurasian otters, for example, must eat 15% of their body weight a day; sea otters, 20 to 25%, depending on the temperature. In consequence, otters are very vulnerable to prey depletion: in water as warm as 10°C an otter needs to catch 100 g of fish per hour: less than that and it cannot survive. Most species hunt for 3 to 5 hours a day; nursing mothers up to 8 hours a day. ==Species== ===Northern River Otter=== The northern river otter (''Lontra canadensis'') was one of the major animals hunted and trapped for fur in North America after contact with Europeans. They are one of the most playful and active, making them a popular exhibit in zoos and aquaria, but unwelcome on agricultural land because they alter river banks for access, sliding, and defense. River otters eat a variety of fish and shellfish, as well as small land mammals and birds. They are 3 to 4 feet (1 m) in length and weigh from 10 to 30 pounds (5 to 15 kg). They were once found all over North America, but are rare or extinct in most places, although flourishing in some locations. Otters are a protected species in some areas and some places have otter sanctuaries. These sanctuaries help sick and hurt otters to recover. ===Sea Otter=== The sea otter ''Enhydra lutris'' is found along the Pacific coast of North America. Their historic range included shallow waters of the Bering Strait and Kamchatka, and as far south as Japan. Sea otters have 1 million hairs per square inch of skin, a rich fur for which they were hunted almost to extinction. By the time they were protected under the 1911 Fur Seal Treaty, there were so few sea otters left that the fur trade had become unprofitable. They eat shellfish and other invertebrates, and are frequently observed using rocks as crude tools to smash open shells. They are 2.5 to 6 feet (1 to 2 m) in length and weigh 25 to 60 pounds (30 kg). Although once near extinction, they have begun to spread again starting from the California coast. ===Maxwell's Otter=== A sub-species otter ''Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli'' (Maxwell's otter - named after British naturalist Gavin Maxwell) is thought to have lived in the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh of Iraq. It has been suggested that this may have become extinct as a result of the large scale drainage that has taken place since the 1960s. ==European Otters== Otters are also found in Europe. In the United Kingdom they were common as recently as the 1950s, but are now rare due to the former use of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides and as a result of habitat loss. Numbers reached a low point in the 1980s, but with the aid of a number of initiatives, by 1999 numbers were estimated to have recovered to just below 1,000 animals. Under the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan it is hoped that by 2010 the otter will have been reintroduced to all the UK rivers and coastal areas that it inhabited in 1960. Roadkill deaths are now one of the significant threats to their reintroduction. ==List of species== Genus Lutra *European Otter (''Lutra lutra'') *Hairy-nosed otter (''Lutra sumatrana'') Genus Hydrictis *Speckle-throated otter (''Hydrictis maculicollis'') Genus Lutrogale *Smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') Genus Lontra *Northern river otter (''Lontra canadensis'') *Southern river otter (''Lontra provocax'') *Long-tailed otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') *Marine otter (''Lontra felina'') Genus Pteronura *Giant otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') Genus Aonyx *African clawless otter (''Aonyx capensis'') *Congo clawless otter (''Aonyx congicus'') Genus Amblonyx *Oriental small-clawed otter (''Amblonyx cinereus'') Genus Enhydra *Sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') ==External links== *[http://www.otter.org/ International Otter Survival Fund] *[http://www.otternet.com/index.htm Otternet] Mustelids
Otter
Cut from main page: ''Males kidnap pups from mothers to use as extortion for food. Rough sex that often kills female. Pups steal food from mother. Do not react well with crude oil. Beneficial for kelp beds and natural fish nurseries. Bad for sea urchins and shellfishermen. Tie themselves up in kelp to keep from floating away while sleeping. They are the newly discovered favorite snack of orca.'' This is a mix of questionable assertions (kidnapping pups, tying themselves up in kelp) and weird phrasing ("do not react well with crude oil"). Someone needs to verify (or refute) the odder bits, and rephrase the rest. I'll try to get to it soon, but can't promise anything. user:Vicki Rosenzweig Vicki, others, I added a bit here about size, weight, agricultural damage. I think the kelp bed/shellfish issues should be included. Don't know about the "rough sex", etc. I do wonder at the implication that the native Americans did *not* use otter fur. User:Ortolan88 ---- Many more otters were trapped after European contact, for export. On weight, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages sea otters in Alaska, has very different size numbers than you found: http://www.state.ak.us/local/akpages/FISH.GAME/notebook/marine/seaotter.htm says adult males are generally 70-90 pounds, some up to 100, and adult females generally 40-60 pounds. What's the source for your numbers? (The Alaska page is a few years old, but this doesn't seem like something that would change rapidly). I seem to have some free time, so will try to find more info about otters generally, including their mating. user:Vicki Rosenzweig ---- Please! Someone who knows how images are handled in wikipedia articles, fix the ending of the article! -- User:Cimon avaro 12:56, Dec 15, 2003 (UTC) ---- "as far south as Japan" -- anybody know which part of Japan? Japan is a very long country... it stretches far north enough that it has some standing territorial disputes with Russia, and clusters of islands in Okinawa to the south are on the same latitude as Taipei. -- User:Mote 03:31, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC) ---- Help someone revert the latest vandal! He's added spurious crap to the infos! -User:68.39.174.205 11:12, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
O
OA | OB | OC | OD | OE | OF | OG | OH | OI | OJ | OK | OL | OM | ON | OP | OR | OS | OT | OU | OW | OX | OY | OZ |Words begining with Otter:
Otter
Otter
Otterbein
Otterbein,_IN
Otterbein,_Indiana
Otterbein_College
Otterberg
Otterbourne
Otterey_St_Mary
Ottergoose
Ottergoose
Otterhound
Otterhound
Otterlo
Otterloo
Otterloo,_Netherlands
Otters
Ottersum
Ottertail
Ottertail,_Minnesota
Ottertail,_MN
Otterthal
Otterton_Mill
Otterup
Otterup
Otterup_municipal
Otterup_municipality
Otterville
Otterville,_IA
Otterville,_IL
Otterville,_Illinois
Otterville,_Iowa
Otterville,_Missouri
Otterville,_MO
Ottery
Ottery_St._Mary
Ottery_St_Catchpole
Ottery_St_Mary
Otter_(disambiguation)
Otter_(software)
Otter_Civet
Otter_Creek
Otter_Creek,_Dunn_County,_WI
Otter_Creek,_Dunn_County,_Wisconsin
Otter_Creek,_Eau_Claire_County,_WI
Otter_Creek,_Eau_Claire_County,_Wisconsin
Otter_Creek,_FL
Otter_Creek,_Florida
Otter_Creek,_WI
Otter_Creek,_Wisconsin
Otter_Creek_Park
Otter_Creek_Township,_PA
Otter_Creek_Township,_Pennsylvania
Otter_Island
Otter_island_(fictional)
Otter_Lake
Otter_Lake,_MI
Otter_Lake,_Michigan
Otter_pop
Otter_Pops
Otter_River
Otter_Tail
Otter_Tail_County
Otter_Tail_County,_Minnesota
Otter_Tail_County,_Minnesota
Otter_Tail_County,_Minnesota
Otter_Tail_County,_MN
Otter_Tail_Peninsula
Otter_Tail_Peninsula_Township,_Minnesota
Otter_Tail_Peninsula_Township,_MN
Otter_Tail_Township,_Minnesota
Otter_Tail_Township,_MN
Otter_theorem_prover
Otter_theorem_prover
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