The River Otter

CLASSIFICATION

GENERAL INFO

SPECIAL FEATURES

HABITAT

DIET

REPRODUCTION

BODY SYSTEMS

HUMAN IMPACT

WEBLINKS

SOURCES

CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Lontra Genus species: L. canadensis

GENERAL INFO
River otters have long bodies with webbed toes and short legs. Their body is streamlined so they can swim more efficiently. They have short, dense fur with an oily underfur which is lighter in color than the topcoats.  In the wild, they will live for about fifteen years, however in captivity they can live up to twenty.

SPECIAL FEATURES

River otters are extremely playful and social. They are vocal with other otters and make chirps, grunts, whistles for attention. River otters can swim about seven miles per hour and can run 15-18 mph. They love to run, slip, and slide especially on ice. In fact, they can glide about twenty five feet on ice.

HABITAT
They typically live in estuaries, coves, and other aquatic habitats. They do not stray more than 300 feet from water, and have a permanent home or burrow near the water in homes/ dens that are made of gathered leaves and sticks. Also, for shelter they often hide in burrows or in between rocks. They are found throughout the continental united states, Alaska, and Canada.

DIET

Mostly, they eat fish, frogs, insects, and sometimes birds make up the meals of wild river otters. They will eat whatever is available  to them in their habitat. However, those held in zoos may eat eggs, tomatoes, oranges, cod liver oil, or cat food.

REPRODUCTION

Breeding happens in the winter and sometimes early spring. The females have delayed implantation and the embryo does not begin growing until the following January. They have separate sexes and internal fertilization.Copulation can happen in land or water. Females are often referred to as Rudolph because after mating their nose begins to bleed from the male grabbing on to it with his mouth.

Babies have direct development and look like a rag doll with yellowish brownish fur. The mom will have one to four babies which are called kits. These babies are altrical, which means that they cannot fend for themselves right when they are born and instaed need help from the mom. For the first six months of their lives, the dad will leave and just the mom will handle the babies.

BODY SYSTEMS

Integumentary:

Closable ears and external nares for going underwater. Whiskers aka vibrasse. Ears near the top of head for better vision while swimming. Fur on top of body darker than fur on underside of body, along with a long furry tail (1/3 of body length)

Respiratory:

Lungs are triangluar in shape with the right bigger than the left. The right side has four lobes and the left has only two. They have a short trachea which is an adaptation that many diving animals have.

Digestive:

36 teeth, with large molars that are used to help crack open mollusk shells. 

Miscellaneous:

Mark their scent with feces, urine, and anal sac secretions which are not found in sea otters. They secrete musk when they feel threatened. 

HUMAN IMPACT

Otters have been hunted by humans for their pelts. The North American River Otter has the most well liked coat of all of the otters. This has caused a decrease in river otters over the past century, and therefore there has been a serious decline in numbers of these furry critters. 

Humans have also been known to trap river otters so that they fish levels can rise since river otters love to feast on fish such as the trout. Now, there are better laws for protecting river otters from trappers and they are becoming more protected than before.

The New York River Otter Project was founded in the 1990's. It's main purpose is to rescue otters from eastern New York in horrible water conditions and relocate the otters to safer enviornments with less water pollution in the western half of the state. This is just one of the many projects in the works trying to make the river otter healthier and happier.

Fun Facts

The river otter can hold its breath for up to eight minutes

Male otters are about 17% larger than females

Old otters can develop white fur

SOURCES

http://www.ci.manhattan.ks.us/documentview.aspx?DID=1823

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_River_Otter

http://science.jrank.org/pages/4947/Otters-Human-impact-on-otters.html

http://www.paddleanywhere.com/2009/08/river-otter-sighting/

http://depts.washington.edu/natmap/facts/river_otter_k6.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexrobinsonphotography/841584922/

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/river-otter/

http://www2.orlandoweekly.com/blog/c2g.asp?month=3&year=2009

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/9355.html

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/PhotoGallery/SmallMammals/13.cfm

http://www.squidoo.com/riverotters

http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-river-otter-1758.html