Watch this clip from the Columbus Zoo of a mama North American river otter "teaching her pup how to swim," which looks exactly like "doing her best to drown her pup." Holding her pup underwater? Dragging it back into the water by the foot as it tries to escape? What kind of a mother are you?
I once thought otters were cute and fun, but are they really history's greatest monsters? I'm just asking questions.
Showing posts with label otters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label otters. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2007
Sea Otters: Still Getting the Hang of the Whole “Being a Sea Otter” Thing
My trip to the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in California included a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The bay is home to a remarkable array of sea life, most notably marine mammals like whales, dolphins and seals.
But the aquarium's signature species is the sea otter. There are five on display in a huge tank in the center of the aquarium, but the population fluctuates as otters are brought to the aquarium after being injured or orphaned, then returned to the wild.
I was surprised at the size of the otters. Male sea otters can grow up to five feet long and weigh 100 pounds, about the size of a large dog. Most zoos I've been to have river otters, which are roughly cat-sized. ("I told you. Big suckers!" said The Green Girlfriend, a California native).
Sea otters have the densest fur on the planet, and ironically enough, it almost led to their extinction. They were hunted relentlessly for centuries, cutting their numbers from a peak of as many as 300,000 to a low of as few as 1,000. The global population has rebounded, but are currently stuck at 15,000-20,000 worldwide, mainly along the Pacific, Alaskan, and Japanese coasts.
Scientists are split on why sea otter populations are stuck in neutral, but a marine biologist told us he thinks whaling and overfishing is indirectly responsible. Because killer whales have fewer options, they're turning to sea otters for food.
But on a basic level, the biologist told us, it's hard out here for a sea otter. Their population will never experience explosive growth because, to use an economic term, they live at the margin.
Otters only entered the sea about three million years ago, a short period on an evolutionary scale, and they're still evolving the tools they need to be ocean-dwellers. Otters are barely scraping by on just enough food in water that's just warm enough with fur that's just thick enough to allow them to survive without a layer of blubber (insulating fat) to keep them from hypothermia.
As I've told people I went to see the otters, the first question I've gotten has always been, "Did you get to watch them crack things open on their little tummies?" While I got to see the otters eat lunch, they were fed bits of scallops and squid -- no cracking necessary.
I couldn't help but think of the South Park episode in which Cartman awakens in a future world ruled by super-intelligent otters who threaten him, "I shall smash your skull like a clam on my tummy!"
For more on sea otters and efforts to help them thrive, click here!
But the aquarium's signature species is the sea otter. There are five on display in a huge tank in the center of the aquarium, but the population fluctuates as otters are brought to the aquarium after being injured or orphaned, then returned to the wild.
I was surprised at the size of the otters. Male sea otters can grow up to five feet long and weigh 100 pounds, about the size of a large dog. Most zoos I've been to have river otters, which are roughly cat-sized. ("I told you. Big suckers!" said The Green Girlfriend, a California native).Sea otters have the densest fur on the planet, and ironically enough, it almost led to their extinction. They were hunted relentlessly for centuries, cutting their numbers from a peak of as many as 300,000 to a low of as few as 1,000. The global population has rebounded, but are currently stuck at 15,000-20,000 worldwide, mainly along the Pacific, Alaskan, and Japanese coasts.
Scientists are split on why sea otter populations are stuck in neutral, but a marine biologist told us he thinks whaling and overfishing is indirectly responsible. Because killer whales have fewer options, they're turning to sea otters for food.
But on a basic level, the biologist told us, it's hard out here for a sea otter. Their population will never experience explosive growth because, to use an economic term, they live at the margin.
Otters only entered the sea about three million years ago, a short period on an evolutionary scale, and they're still evolving the tools they need to be ocean-dwellers. Otters are barely scraping by on just enough food in water that's just warm enough with fur that's just thick enough to allow them to survive without a layer of blubber (insulating fat) to keep them from hypothermia.
As I've told people I went to see the otters, the first question I've gotten has always been, "Did you get to watch them crack things open on their little tummies?" While I got to see the otters eat lunch, they were fed bits of scallops and squid -- no cracking necessary.
I couldn't help but think of the South Park episode in which Cartman awakens in a future world ruled by super-intelligent otters who threaten him, "I shall smash your skull like a clam on my tummy!"
For more on sea otters and efforts to help them thrive, click here!
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