Joseph's Composition - Research Report

Sea Otters

Name: Joseph Denson

Date: November 7, 2012

Class: Composition

          We are off the coast of California to watch for sea otters. We are coming up to a kelp bed, where sea otters make their homes.

          Sea otters are adapted to living in water by having waterproof fur. They also have webbed feet for swimming, and they keep their ears and eyes shut to keep out water. Otters have whiskers to feel surroundings and prey.  Sea otters do not hibernate even in cold climates like Alaska.

          Most of a sea otter’s food comes from the ocean floor. Sometimes sea otters eat sea urchins. They have the ability to do this because their mouths have tough skin. Sea otters also hunt fish. Sea otters play more than any other mammal. This playing trains them for hunting when they are older.

          A young sea otter is called an otter cub. An otter cub’s fur is not waterproof. They stay on their mother’s stomach so they don’t sink.  Young sea otters feed off their mother’s milk. When another unknown sea otter approaches, the baby gets behind her mother until the other sea otter leaves.  Sea otter cubs stay with their mother for six months.  Even after a sea otter leaves its mother, it stays nearby.

          Sea otters are dying due to fishing and getting tangled in fishing nets. Sea otters have several natural predators such as the Orca whale and Great White sharks.  Pollution also plays a role in killing sea otters. Man has been hunting the sea otter as well. The sea otter is now a protected species that is not supposed to be hunted for its fur.  We know that we need to stop water pollution.  The sea otter still is faced with many challenges to survive.

          It has been a long day off the California coast.  We are returning to shore and going home.  We sure did learn a lot about sea otters and are learning ways to protect them. 

        

Bibliography

Alvin, Virginia, and Robert Silverstein. The Sea Otter. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 1995. Print.

Brownell, M. Barbara. Amazing Otters. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1989. Print.

Whitlock, Ralph. Otters. Sussex, Eng.: Priory, 1974. Print.