Sea Otters An Endangered Species By Maeve Grade 5 January 30, 2014
http://leoniecumiskey.com/2013/08/06/california-fishing-groups-sue-to-stop-sea-otters/
Table of Contents Introduction!
2
Reproduction!
3
Description!
4
Range and Population!
5
Threats!
6
Conclusion!
7
Bibliography!
8
Introduction You are walking on the Alaskan coastline. The fog settles as the day goes on. All of a sudden you hear screaming sounds. They are loud and unearthly. The water ripples as a sleek form dives underwater from afar in the kelp forest. Soon a large head pops up in front of you. Its once fluffy fur is plastered to its body, and its nose twitches. You are in the presence of the sea otter.
http://www.lair2000.net/Mermaid_Lyrics6/lyrics/Sea_Otter_Rap.html
Otherwise known as the Marine Otter or Enhydra Lutris, these fluffy sea mammals are endangered!
Reproduction Sea otters are polygynous, which means they have many mates in their life. The female sea otter reaches sexual maturity at five years old, the male at seven or eight. Many of females that are five years old or older have scarred noses. This is because while mating, the male often bites the female’s nose and muzzle. The female’s gestation period is about 4-12 months. Sea otter pups drink milk for about 2 months. Until he learns to swim at about 4 weeks old, he will spend most of his time on his mother’s chest. When the mother needs to hunt, she will put him in seaweed to anchor him in place.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_otter
Description
Sea Otters come in a variety of different colors from dark brown to white. They look like mini seals, with 4 legs and a long tail. Males weigh 45-90 pounds, females 40-60. Both are about 3 feet long, nose to tail. Their prominent features are powerful flippers and a strong tail. Sea otters often live in large unisex groups called rafts, shown below. The sea otter is what is called a keystone species. This means the animal is vital to its habitat. The kelp forest and all the creatures that live there need the sea otter. The reason the kelp forest needs sea otters is that sea otters eat sea urchins. These spiny creatures find food sources in kelp forests-- The kelp itself! Luckily, sea otters eat sea urchins, so the kelp forests are safe as long as the sea otter lives. If the sea otter died out, the kelp forests would disappear. In addition to sea urchins, sea otters eat oysters, sea stars, crabs, squid, clam, mussels, abalone, and snails. The sea otter may dive up to 330 feet to catch their prey. They can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes while hunting!
http://www.otterproject.org/about-sea-otters/natural-history/
Range and Population
Sea otters live in a multitude of different places. Some of them are Alaska, Russia, Japan and
California. There are only 1,864 Californian sea otters, and the main species of sea otters, the marine otter, is down to 1,000 otters!
Alaskan Sea Otter http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2008/11/research.html
Californian Sea Otter Pup http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/08/sea-otter-decline/
Japanese Sea Otter http://news.softpedia.com/news/Japanese-Otter-OfficiallyDeclared-Extinct-289044.shtml
Threats Sea otters are endangered because their soft, fluffy coats make them a poacher’s dream come true. Also, people using gill nets often catch sea otters and accidentally strangle them in the ropes. Luckily, the U.S. government has outlawed the use of gill nets. Sea otters are endangered mostly because of oil spills, which wipe out huge numbers of them. This is a big problem because of their vulnerability to large-scale population declines. In 1700, the sea otter populations were healthy, at 15,000 to 30,000 otters all over. Then in the mid-1700s, populations plummeted due to hunting and trading. In 1800s, they were nearly extinct, with populations as low as 1,000-2,000 total! In 1911, the National Fur Seal Treaty was signed, saying that no one would hunt sea otters or seals. Since then, populations are getting larger.
http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2003/07/3-yr-average.gif
Conclusion The sea otters are vital parts of their ecosystem! Please help! Do what you can to help us save the sea otters! Go to gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions/Sea-Otter.aspx to make a symbolic sea otter adoption today!
http://raredelights.com/top-20-worlds-cutest-animals/sea-otter/
Bibliography Ashby, Ruth. Sea Otters. New York: Aladdin, 1990. Print. Jane Goodall’s Animal World. Good book about sea otters. Helpful and informative. Brownell, M. Barbara. Amazing Otters. New York: Scholastic, 1989. Print. All about sea otters, fun and informative. Good for compare-contrast on river otters. Good pictures. Helpful information on all otters. A great resource! Encyclopedia Brittanica. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. <http://school.eb.com/levels/elementary>. Lockwood, Sophie. Sea Otter. Chanhassen: The Child’s World, 2006. Print. Great source. Can skip through or read cover-tocover. Good for more detailed, zoomed-in information about sea otters. “Sea Otters.” Sea Otters.com. WHARTONMEDIA, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. <http://seaotters.com/sea-otters/>. Smith, Roland. Sea Otter Rescue. New York: Puffin Books, 1999. Print. Oil Spills effects on otters. Stone, Lynn M. River Otters. Vero Beach: The Rourke Press, Inc, 1995. Print. Wild Animals Of The Woods. Good summary on River Otters. Good for a younger reading level.