Biology

General Traits: 
    Sea Otters are extremely charismatic marine mammals. They also happened to be one of the smallest (The Marine Mammal Center). When mature, sea otters are only about 4 ft in length with males being slightly larger and females being slightly smaller. Unlike many other marine mammals that use blubber to keep warm, sea otters use extremely thick fur (The Otter Project). They have the thickest fur of any animal, with about 1,000,000 hairs per square inch ( The Marine Mammal Center). In comparison a human head only has 100,000 hairs (The Otter project) The cleanliness of sea otter fur is crucial for their survival. Sea otters continually clean their fur in order to maintain this layer of insulation and stay warm. Any kind of soiling of the fur by contaminates can lead to hypothermia which can result in death (IUCN Red List) . 

Sea Otter Anatomy

Source: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/weasel/Seaotterprintout.shtml

Reproduction: 

Mother and Baby Sea Otter
   

Source: http://rowawayfromtherocks.wordpress.com/category/poetry/page/2/

      The primary mating season of sea otters is in the fall. Throughout this season male otters breed with many different female partners (The Otter Project).Sea Otter females reach sexual maturity between 3 and 5 years old, and males become mature between 5 and 6 years old (Sea Otter Conservation).   Once they have reached sexual maturity, female otters have one pup per year. This birth is normally in the spring time allowing the fetus to develop inside the mother for 6 months before it's born (Sea Otter Conservation).  Following birth the otter pups are completely reliant on their mothers, but after two months they begin to dive for food. The pups stay with their moms for up to 12 months and continue to nurse throughout that time. Once weened, the pups becomes independent and leave their mothers. Following separation the mother breeds again (The Otter Project). 

Habitat: 

Kelp forest from above
    

Source: www.pznow.co.uk

      The Sea Otters most preferred habitat is shallow coastal areas. They normally don't go farther then a few kilometers from shore, but sometimes venture farther in search of food. Southern sea otters usually inhabit areas with dense kelp forests.  These kelp forests provide the otters with a place to rest without being relocated by the oceans current (IUCN Red List). They also serve as hunting grounds. Sea otters may inhabit other ecosystems   such as costal wetland waterways, but this is less common. (The Otter Project). 

Kelp forest from under water

Source: www.californiasciencecenter.org 

                                                           

Diet: 

Abalone

Source: simple.wikipedia.org

       The sea otter's diet mainly consists of marine invertebrates. Some examples are: sea urchins and abalone (IUCN Red List). Sea otters use their teeth to  crush their prey, but they also use tools, including rocks and other hard implements. Tools are used to break open the shells of their prey. While floating on their backs sea otters use their chests as a surface to carry out this extraction process (Sea Otter Conservation). Sea otters have an extremely fast metabolism resulting in the need to consume 20-30% of their body weight daily. This allows them to maintain their homeostatic levels, including body temperature (The Otter Project). 

Sea Urchin
    

Source: animalcrossing.wikia.com

Sources: 

1. "The Otter Project." The Otter Project. N.p.,  n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. 

<http://www.otterproject.org/about-sea-otters/biology-of-the-southern-sea-otter//>.

2. "OceanLink | Sea Otter Conservation - Biology1." OceanLink | Sea Otter Conservation - Biology1. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2013. <http://oceanlink.island.net/seaotterstewardship/biology1.html>.

3. "Animal Classification: Sea Otter." The Marine Mammal Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. <http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/education/marine-mammal-information/sea-otter.html?gclid=CKaKxOfZ87UCFa9aMgod9wMAIw>.

4. Enhydra Lutris." (Sea Otter). N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. 

<http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/7750/0>.