What environment do otters live in? Habitat and lifestyle of the otter

Man became acquainted with the river otter quite a long time ago. It was very difficult not to notice this animal with the skills of a natural swimmer. The otter is of interest not only because of its practical and durable fur. This is a very friendly creature that can be kept in captivity without any problems. At proper education The river otter can be trained quite easily, since it is a rather peaceful animal that is not inclined to show aggression towards humans.

Characteristic

Because the river otter spends most of its life in water, this was reflected in her behavior and habits.

• This animal belongs to the mustelid family, so it demonstrates the skills of a cunning hunter characteristic of its representatives.
• The food for this animal is fish, which is not difficult for an otter to catch.
• When moving on land, the animal’s body looks slightly hunched over, but even this allows it to develop high speed running.
• If a person meets an otter on the ground, it will still be able to run away from him.
• The best place to build a home is in remote places where people rarely visit. Even though there will be little food in the place where they live, the otter will be more than happy with this, since this guarantees safety not only for him, but also for his offspring.
• This animal usually goes hunting in the morning and evening twilight. During strong winds and snowfalls, the otter prefers not to go outside and remains in its shelter for a long time.
• The otter is a very secretive and cautious animal that always looks around. It is very difficult to meet an otter in an open area on the shore. She also demonstrates secrecy when arranging her home, masking the exit from the water with spruce branches or creating it in places overgrown with bushes.
• The river otter is a fairly good-natured animal that loves to play. Therefore, if you decide to have one in your home, then you will not be bored.

Appearance

When someone mentions an otter, we usually associate it with something that has an unpleasant appearance. However, this animal does not correspond to this idea. She looks pretty attractive, having a very funny face that looks beautiful thanks to its long sideburns.

This animal highly valued for its wear-resistant and waterproof fur, which is an excellent material for making warm and beautiful fur coats.

Habitat

Otters can be found throughout the area Western Europe, as well as in Asia. She is also not a rare visitor near the southern border of Hindustan and China. The first representatives of this species were discovered in Greece, Spain, Great Britain and Switzerland, but quite soon their population disappeared, which was the result of active hunting for them. Experts who understand high risk the complete disappearance of otters, they are trying to create suitable housing for them on the lakes and reservoirs of these countries, but so far their attempts have not been crowned with much success, and the otter is still on the list of endangered species.

This animal feels most comfortable on rivers with fast current and rocky bottom. She likes narrow rivers about 10-15 m.

Today, the river otter numbers about 90 thousand individuals, which is very small considering the area of ​​our planet.

Key Features

The otter differs from other representatives of the mustelid family in that it spends most of its time in water. Therefore, she chooses for herself habitats where there is a body of water. According to experts, it is very important for this animal to have a sufficient amount of food, for which it can walk tens of kilometers on land. She's not inclined for a long time be in one place. Only the presence of enough food can keep it going.

The otter differs from other animals in that it and in winter continues to be awake. Therefore, at this time of year it can be seen near ice-free areas of water. Thanks to the presence of the polynya, this animal can lead its normal lifestyle, breathe and walk on land after a successful hunt.

Nutrition

This animal is not picky about food, so it can feed on various types of fish. The main food for an otter is:

• carp;
• trout;
• pike;
• small roach;
• crucian carp.

When the otter finds itself on land, it hunts rodents, wading birds and frogs. She will also not refuse large beetles and mollusks.

In search of food, this animal can also look into a fish hole, in which you can find many various types fish Easy prey for the otter are slow flocks, which it easily catches up with and, once in the thick of the small flocks, grabs the largest specimens.

The otter can also be interested in lone predator fish: in order to catch them, the otter sets up an ambush, from where it makes a lightning attack, as a result of which the victim does not have a single opportunity to escape. She uses similar tactics to hunt small rodents.

Reproduction

Animals used to living alone. Scientists do not have precise information about the periods in which they are usually disputed. Here it is necessary to take into account the climate of their habitat. In the temperate zone, these animals usually mate in March-April. But in Britain, as well as countries with warm climate these animals can bear offspring all year round.

Usually the otter begins to breed at the age of 2-3 years. The duration of pregnancy is approximately 8 months, and this does not allow maintaining a high number of representatives of this species. The female can bring at one time no more than two to four cubs. In the first years, the offspring require special attention, since it must be protected not only from enemies, but also from the vagaries of the weather.

During the period of bearing cubs, a mother otter demonstrates amazing care: she is ready to attack anyone if she suspects that someone wants to harm her babies. Because of rapid growth Otters stay with their mother for only a short time. Already upon reaching the age of one year, they are left by their mother and begin an independent life.

If you want to get an otter, we advise you not to do so. But if you are determined, you can try. But keep in mind that you must create suitable conditions for this animal: the presence of a deep reservoir with clean water. You must also create conditions for the animal to walk along the shore.

Unlike other domestic animals, the otter defecates very frequently and loose stools, from which it comes bad smell. This is due to the fact that it eats fish. This is another reason to think about whether to have an otter at home.

IN industrial scale These animals are bred in large nurseries, where conditions are created that are practically no different from natural ones. But even with appropriate care, even experienced breeders are not able to provide for everyone fur products. The thing is that these animals too rarely bear offspring.

They are valued primarily for their expensive and rare fur. Many experts note that the fur of this animal is unrivaled in terms of wear resistance. Products made from black fur have the most impressive appearance. They have coarse guard hairs, but they also have very soft and fluffy down. If necessary, designers can create real masterpieces from otter fur: to do this, they pluck out the guard hairs, resulting in products of unusual beauty, covered with the most delicate underfur.

Conclusion

The river otter is a very interesting animal, which is very difficult to meet, even if you know about its habits. The fact is that she behaves very secretly and never settles near human habitations. At the first suspicion that she is being watched, she will immediately hide in her shelter. Therefore, you need to monitor it very carefully. The river otter may seem like a funny animal to some, so you may want to keep it in the house. However, this is not recommended, as it is a very troublesome task.

In addition to the fact that you will have to create conditions for it that are as close to natural as possible, this animal can cause trouble with its frequent bowel movements, which will give off an unpleasant odor. Therefore, if you have not yet lost the desire to keep a river otter at home, be prepared to come to terms with this drawback.

The otter's cunning and crafty face, deft movements in the water and funny gait on land - it is not difficult to fall under its charm, especially considering that it is also very temperamental and quite sociable: it squeals, whistles, chirps, hisses. Therefore, it hardly occurs to anyone that this darling, even predatory animal, is able to cope with a young alligator, which is rightfully considered one of the most dangerous and strong predators planets.

Locked in mortal combat the animals were spotted on one of the lakes in Florida. The attacker turned out to be a mammal, which with sharp fangs grabbed the reptile by the neck and, having secured an advantageous position for itself, completely deprived it of the opportunity to do anything. After a short fight, the otter pulled the alligator out of the lake and disappeared from sight with the prey.

Otter (lat. Lutra) is called carnivorous mammal, leading a semi-aquatic lifestyle and belonging to the mustelidae family. The subfamily has 5 genera and 17 species, among which the most famous are the common (river) otter, sea otter, sea otter, Brazilian (giant) and Caucasian otter. All species of this animal are listed in the International Red Book: the valuable otter fur has been attracting the attention of poachers for centuries.

Descriptions of otters of different genera differ depending on the species. Thus, the length of the animal’s body ranges from 55 to 95 cm, while it is very flexible, muscular and long. The length of the tail ranges from 22 to 55 cm, it is thick at the base, tapering towards the end, and is not fluffy. The largest is considered to be the Brazilian or giant otter, which lives on the banks of the Amazon and Orinoco: together with the tail, the length of this animal reaches two meters, and its weight is more than twenty kilograms.

Thus, the giant otter is the largest representative of its subfamily. It can compete only with the sea otter living in the open sea, which, although smaller, is much heavier.

The smallest otter, the eastern one, lives in the swamps of Asia. The length of its body, including its tail, ranges from 70 to 100 cm, and its weight ranges from 1 to 5.5 kilograms. As for marine animals, the smallest sea otter lives in the west South Africa and weighing 4.5 kilograms.

Compared to their body weight, these animals have large lungs, which allows them to stay under water for about four minutes. To get a portion of air, the animal does not have to completely float up: it is enough to stick the tip of its nose to the surface - this gives the otter the opportunity to completely fill its lungs with oxygen and return under water.

The animal has a wide muzzle and small ears. There are vibrissae on the muzzle and knees, thanks to which the predator detects the smallest movement in the water, while the animal receives almost all the information about the prey: its size, speed and where exactly it is moving. When a predator is underwater, its nostrils and ear openings close with valves, blocking the path of water.

The paws are short, five fingers are connected by swimming membranes, thanks to which the animal moves quickly in the water, and in pursuit of prey it can swim about three hundred meters under water. The hind legs are slightly longer than the front legs - this gives the animal the ability to swim excellently.

The fur of the otter is especially noteworthy: it is brown or gray-brownish in color, with a beautiful silver tint on its belly. Her guard hair is extremely coarse, and her undercoat is very soft and delicate to the touch. It is so dense that it makes otter fur absolutely impervious to water and provides excellent protection against hypothermia.

Otters do not leave their fur unattended and take care of it for a long time, combing and smoothing it: if they do not do this, the fur will be dirty, will no longer retain heat, and the animal will die from hypothermia (the otter has no fat reserves). From the outside it looks like the animal is playing, cleaning its fur from various contaminants. To fill their undercoat with air, otters often tumble and roll over in the water.

Habitat

Representatives of the mustelid family can be seen in many places on our planet. Their habitat covers almost all of Eurasia (except Holland, Switzerland and Arabian Peninsula), North Africa and America.

The river otter does not live everywhere: first of all, otters are extremely demanding of cleanliness, and therefore do not live in muddy water bodies. The second condition due to which otters will not linger near a reservoir is the lack of food: the animal feeds on crayfish, fish, mollusks and amphibians.

These animals do not always live in one place. In summer, they prefer to stay in one area, moving no more than six kilometers away from it. But in winter, it all depends on how much the water freezes: otters do not live on completely ice-covered reservoirs. If an area is completely frozen, they leave it and, in search of a suitable body of water, are able to travel dozens of kilometers and even cross mountains. The Caucasian otter rises the highest - it feels great at an altitude exceeding two and a half thousand meters.

Otters do not dig holes and settle in an abandoned beaver hole, in natural caves or depressions under the roots of coastal trees. The animal chooses a place for settlement carefully; it is very important that it is invisible and difficult to access, and it is possible to get to the home only along one single path; very rarely the animal makes additional passages. In addition to the main hole, the otter has several more shelters on the site; they are located quite far from the water, at a distance of about a hundred meters - and in them you can sit out the period when the river overflows its banks and floods the surrounding area.

How do otters live?

Although many people consider otters to be nocturnal animals, they can easily lead an active lifestyle in the evening and even during the day if they believe that they are not in danger. Basically, these animals like to live alone, the only exception are females with children - young otters live with their mother for about a year and leave her only when she is about to reproduce again.

Among otters there are species that do not like loneliness. For example, the giant otter differs from its European relatives in that it is active during the day, is not very timid, lives in groups and hunts in packs: animals with different sides they drive the fish to one place.

Despite the fact that otters spend almost all their time in the water, many of them feel good on land, along which they move at a trot, leaving a winding trail, and often make one and a half meter long jumps. But on loose snow, due to their short limbs, they move with difficulty, at a gallop, hunched over greatly. If the snow is more or less compacted, otters alternate jumping with sliding on their belly.

These animals are also very energetic and playful. Not far from their holes you can find “roller coasters” - hills with a compacted trail left by the animal sliding on its belly. The animal climbs this hill several times a day and slides down with a running start. Another favorite pastime is catching one’s own tail or hind leg, and often plays with the caught fish, after which it eats it.

In summer, when there is a lot of food in the reservoir, otters live in one place and do not move far from the site. The animal feeds on fish, frogs, crabs, and also catches rodents and even birds. The otter's hunting grounds at this time of year range from 2 to 18 kilometers along the river and 100 meters inland from the shore. In winter, if the fish leave or the ice freezes, thereby making hunting difficult, the animal is quite capable of covering 15 to 20 kilometers in a day in search of food.

Living in the sea

The sea otter's lifestyle is somewhat different from those living near fresh water bodies. Representatives of this species live mainly on the Pacific coast South America and almost all of its subspecies (with the exception of the sea otter) are small in size: its weight ranges from 3 to 6 kilograms.

It is interesting that the sea otter avoids fresh water bodies and settles only on sea ​​coast. The animal makes its home on a rocky coast, where strong winds blow, and a section of the coast is constantly flooded with water during high tides (the hole is located on the border of the high level tide).

Dense bushes or low trees usually grow along the shore - this gives her the opportunity to arrange two exits in her lair: one into the sea, the other onto land. Most species are characterized by a solitary lifestyle, so they set up their homes at a distance of at least two hundred meters from each other. True, they do not show aggression towards strangers who wander into their territory.



By its nature, the sea otter is very timid, and therefore it is not easy to see it, even though, unlike its river relative, it leads a diurnal lifestyle, staying in the water most of its time (without leaving the water, they turn over on their back and lay prey on the belly, even feed). When hunting, a sea otter can easily dive to a depth of about fifty meters (and does it very quickly - in 15-30 seconds).

The animal moves inland mainly when pursuing prey, and can move half a kilometer from the shore. The sea otter is very good at climbing the rocks located along the coast, and also really likes to rest in dense thickets.

Otter marten

The largest sea otter is considered to live in northern latitudes sea ​​otter: the length of its body including its tail ranges from a meter to one and a half meters. Despite the fact that it is slightly smaller than a two-meter giant otter, it is much heavier - a sea otter weighs on average 30 kilograms, and the weight of some specimens reaches 45 kilograms. It should be noted that the sea otter can only be called a sea otter conditionally: scientists claim that the sea otter is a species close to otters.

Unlike other species, the sea otter's guard hair is quite sparse, but its undercoat is extremely thick: the sea otter's fur is considered the densest of all mammals - 100 thousand hairs per square centimeter. The hind limbs of the animal, connected by membranes, resemble long flippers, the tail is short, and the paws, unlike ordinary otters, are fingerless.

Like many sea otters, it prefers a diurnal lifestyle: at night it mainly sleeps on the coast, but can also rest in the water, wrapped in seaweed so that it does not get carried away to the sea. During a hunt, a sea otter is quite capable of reaching speeds of up to 16 km/h and diving into the sea up to 55 meters. Its favorite foods are sea urchins and shellfish. But the sea otter doesn’t care at all about how to get fresh water: it gets it with food, and if necessary, it can also drink sea water.

The sea otter rarely moves on land, with difficulty, clumsily bending its body, and if possible, it descends from a cliff on its belly. In case of danger, it can run some distance and make several jumps.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity in these animals begins in the second/third year of life. Mating usually occurs in the spring, in water, and pregnancy lasts from one and a half to two and a half months. Usually two to four babies are born, and birth takes place in a burrow. The otter raises the cubs herself: despite the fact that the male is nearby at this time, after fertilization the female drives him away and does not feel a strong desire to see him near her. True, not everyone does this; for example, the eastern otter prefers to live in pairs and raise babies together with the male.



A newborn otter calf, like many mammals, is born blind, toothless, deaf, and covered with dark gray down. It begins to see quite late - after a month. By this time, their fur acquires the same color as that of their parents, and their weight reaches eight hundred grams. They begin to feed independently only from the age of two months, and begin to move a short distance from their mother only after reaching eight/nine months. True, by the age of one year the animals become completely independent, but still live with their family for some time.

Lutra and man

Unfortunately, in the wild these predators are found less and less often, and therefore almost all of them are listed in the Red Book. An important role in this was played by the reduction of forests, which disrupted the hydrological regime, active fishing, which reduces the amount of food, and pollution of rivers, lakes, seas, oceans and other bodies of water on our planet. The animal suffered greatly due to its extremely warm, thick and soft fur - in some places they were almost completely exterminated by poachers.

To save this subspecies, zoologists often raise otters in artificial conditions, and when the animals reach a certain age, they are released into the wild.

Some people even try to keep an otter in their home. Although these animals are extremely intelligent and easy to tame, keeping an otter as a pet is not the best option: keeping one is not easy, especially if you do not live in a mansion that does not have a pool or pond near it. A bath is not particularly suitable in this case, since the animal bathes often, after which it rolls on the floor to dry its fur (it prefers carpets) Once upon a time, people and animals were equal before the formidable forces of nature. But millennia passed, and man was able to subjugate wildlife

Nowadays, animals often cannot live on our planet in natural conditions, and many species are becoming extinct. Over the past 100 years, several hundred animal species have ceased to exist on Earth. Many are at risk of death in the near future. Adults and children all over the world must help animals not disappear from the face of the Earth. And for this we need to know who lives around us - in the forests, fields, mountains, rivers. You need to know the habits of animals and not interfere with the behavior natural look life.

Otters are the largest members of the mustelid family: they reach a length of almost a meter and their weight reaches almost 12 kilograms. Otters are found in inland waters and are excellently adapted for living on water. Thanks to its rounded head, short thick neck, cylindrical body, thick tail and webbed feet, the otter moves effortlessly in the water. When she dives, the muscles of her ears and nostrils contract and close them tightly.

The otter's body is elongated, flexible, mobile, its ears are round, small, and barely protrude from the fur. The eyes are large, oriented forward and upward, and glow copper-red at night. The legs are short, with small claws and developed membranes between the toes. The hair is dark brown, very thick and even throughout the body. The color of the fur on the belly is slightly lighter than on the back. Females are smaller than males.

Habitat

The otter is a semi-aquatic animal. Prefers inaccessible wooded shores. The nature of the ice cover is of great importance for the existence of the otter. The presence of wormwood and thawed areas is necessary for animals. The abundance of ice and the complete freezing of water bodies deprives them of the opportunity to develop even water bodies rich in food or forces them to make dangerous seasonal transitions.

Water is vital for the otter: it obtains food in it and seeks salvation from danger. But land is also of great importance in the life of an otter; on it the animal builds shelters and reproduces, rests and makes transitions between bodies of water.

The river otter, as I have already written, prefers rivers whose banks are covered with forest over a large area. Here she lives in underground passages. The exit is always under water, usually at a depth of half a meter; from here a passage almost two meters long rises in an oblique direction and leads to a spacious basin, which is carefully lined with grass, so that it is always dry. Another narrow passage leads from the basin to the surface of the shore and serves for ventilation. Typically, the river otter uses ready-made burrows and caves in the shore, washed away by water, for housing, which it only lengthens and expands by digging the ground and gnawing the roots it comes across. In rare cases, she uses abandoned fox and badger holes if they are located near water. For the most part, she owns several dwellings; if it happens that a river or lake is too abundant in fish, then there is no need for it to undertake long trips to change its habitat. During a flood, which also floods her home, she takes refuge in nearby trees or in a hollow and spends time here in peace and relaxation from her constant occupation - fishing.

The otter prefers ponds with clear water, fast current and rocky riverbed. Because of its passion for rivers, people call it list (previously they called it poreshnya). The river otter's home range, individual or family, is small and limited coastal strip, the width of which rarely exceeds 200-300 meters.

IN Hard times the otter turns into an avid traveler. In the north of the region, the otter moves away due to unfavorable ice cover - the animal actually leads a semi-nomadic lifestyle in winter, moving from one body of water to another. IN summer period migrations, on the contrary, are caused by summer shallowing and drying out - the otter goes to where large waters remain.

Nutrition

The river otter is a typical fish eater. In the rivers of the Chelyabinsk region, it prefers perch, roach, bream and pike. The otter prefers small fish to large ones, and willingly catches fry in spawning areas. The otter feeds on everything it can handle. One day an otter caught not far from the house in a short time two geese that were swimming in a ditch, sneaking up on them underwater and grabbing their prey by the belly.

The otter's winter food is mainly frogs, which it hardly touches during the ice-free period. According to scientists in winter time these amphibians make up about half of its diet, but in the spring, when frogs are more active, the otter prefers to hunt fish.

Despite the fact that the otter is a carnivorous mammal, its diet in summer includes coastal plants such as reeds, cattails, horsetail, sedge and reeds.

Hunting methods

Usually the river otter goes fishing only after sunset. During such a hunt, she often happens to approach human habitation and climb into cities and villages lying along big rivers. In shallow waters, she drives fish into bays to make it difficult for them to escape and make it easier to catch them, or, slapping the water with their tail, drives them out of coastal holes and from under stones, so that the fish most likely becomes prey for a cunning beast.

The otter's main way of hunting fish is stalking and stalking. On shallow rifts, the predator guards its prey on rocks or on the shore. An otter watches for a water rat at its burrows. It mainly pursues schooling and not very active fish, which are easier to catch. The otter often visits “fish holes” - pools of calm water, in which sedentary fish accumulate for the night. Underwater, she always grabs prey with her mouth. An otter normally eats about one kilogram of fish per day. Having grabbed a fish, the predator usually eats it on a stone protruding from the water, in winter on the edge of an opening. It eats only freshly caught prey, does not hide uneaten remains and never returns to them.

Features of reproduction

There is still much that is unclear in the biology of otter reproduction. It is not confined to a specific season of the year. In every month of the year you can find her cubs. Typically, mating time coincides with the end of February and the beginning of March. The male and female attract each other with a strong, drawn-out whistle and play lovingly with each other in the water. Intrauterine development is delayed and can occur after 7-8 months. But most often, nine weeks after mating, the female brings two to four blind cubs in a safe burrow, built on the shore under an old tree or strong roots on a soft and warm grass bed. After nine to ten days the animals open their eyes, and after eight weeks the mother takes them out to fish. They remain for almost six months under the supervision of the female, during which she teaches the techniques necessary for their hunting. In the third year they become so mature that they are capable of reproduction. In the first days, the mother, leaving to hunt, covers the otter eggs with grass or moss if the nest is not made in a hole, but from the surface of the ground, hiding them from beast of prey or a bird of prey.

The otter is very attached to its offspring. In case of danger, she protects them, sometimes even attacks first. It's interesting how otters teach their cubs to swim. Kids are not afraid of water and splash around the shore, not daring to go into the depths. Their parents push them, and sometimes even take them on their backs to the middle of the river, and dump them there. Otters splash around in the water, and adults make sure they don't drown. The animals reach sexual maturity in the third year of life.

Lifestyle and distribution

• features of biology

The otter belongs to specialized freshwater forms associated with lowland and mountain rivers. In the absence of persecution, it gets along well in anthropogenic landscapes. It makes its burrow in close proximity to a pond, often using a niche under the roots of fallen trees (Appendix 1). It obtains food in the water and seeks refuge here in case of danger. It dives instantly with a strong splash, but if necessary, it goes under water completely silently.

Before diving, the otter takes in air in a split second; to do this, it only needs to stick the tip of its muzzle out of the water. It can stay under water for up to 5 minutes; the otter’s diving path can be traced by the bubbles of air it exhales.

The otter is a very active animal that spends a significant part of its time playing. In the water, the otter moves quickly, catching even the fastest fish (Appendix 5). She loves to skate with a running start on smooth ice or steep slopes, where characteristic grooves remain on the clay or snow (Appendix 3). The otter has a special “roller coaster” that the animals have been using for games for decades. In reservoirs where otters live, you can also find areas on the shore with trampled grass, where otters rest during the day (Appendix 6), as well as viewing and feeding “tables” with food remains and droppings. The otter is cautious and secretive; It mainly makes transitions to new areas by water. On land, the otter is less mobile and even clumsy, although it can walk across snowy ice up to 10 km. The otter knows its hunting area - a strip approximately 100 meters wide, stretching along the river for 2 - 6 km, down to the smallest detail. She has several burrows in this area. In some the otter sleeps and rests, while in others it lives only while feeding its babies. These nests are made especially carefully: the entrance is hidden under water, the ventilation hole is cleverly disguised in the bushes. With a rich food supply, a sedentary can live for several years.

• footprints

Footprints characteristic shape, with teardrop-shaped toe marks and an elongated heel on the hind legs. The first toe is often not imprinted, especially on the front paws, but even in not very deep snow there is usually a furrow from the tail. The size of the footprint is 12x10 cm. The footprints are arranged in oblique rows of 3 or 4 (Appendix 3) Jump length 60 - 90 cm.

• spreading

The otter is distributed everywhere except the tundra and arid areas, but almost everywhere it is rare or has disappeared due to hunting, water pollution and a decrease in fish stocks. Relatively common only in some places in the north and north-west of the European part of Russia, on the middle Ob, Kamchatka, Sakhalin, in the Amur basin and nature reserves of Primorye. In the Urals it is found from the tundra of the Yamal Peninsula to Southern Urals inclusive, along the valley of the Ural River to the mouth. Currently, the otter permanently lives in the northwestern part of the Chelyabinsk region: the basin of the Verkhnyaya and Nizhnyaya Bianka (Asha district), Ay, Sulla, Nyazya and Ufa rivers.

• economic importance

Among fishermen and hunters at one time there was a widespread opinion that the otter was harmful. But careful research has shown that in places where the otter settles, fish catches increase. It “removes” sick and weakened fish from the reservoir and destroys trash fish en masse, thereby protecting the eggs of commercial fish species from being eaten.

In the past, the otter was an important game animal. Her fur was in high demand because it is very beautiful and durable. Its wearability in the fur industry is taken as 100%. During the processing process, the coarse awn is plucked out and a short, thick, delicate underfur is left.

• otter breeding and domestication

Although in nature the otter avoids humans, in captivity it easily makes contact with people. In terms of tameability, the otter is close to the dog. If an otter is raised from childhood, it will perceive people and other domestic animals as its family, love them and follow the person. A tamed otter cannot be passed on to other owners or sent to a zoo - it will suffer immensely after losing its family. The otter began to be domesticated many centuries ago. There is information that back in the 17th century, tame otters were used in England to drive fish into nets. On American and Canadian farms, it happens that otters live on equal terms with cats and dogs. Sometimes there are "semi-tamed" otters who live on the river and come to the farm to eat and play - after all, otters are more prone to play than any other wild animal. They really play with each other, and not only babies, but also adult otters. The list of fun activities includes catch-up, hide-and-seek, and wrestling. It happens that one otter catches a fish and hides it, while the others try to find it. Then the fish hides and the game starts all over again. In Russia, they tried to breed otters: in the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Region, on the basis of the Cherginsky experimental farm of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, in the early 80s, attempts were made to cage breeding otters. For a number of reasons, it was not possible to obtain positive results, and the work was curtailed. Currently, employees of the Novosibirsk Zoo are quite successfully breeding otters. You can try to domesticate the otter - after all, it is good at communicating with people.

I think that the common otter is a promising species for domestication and cage farming. Domestication and cage breeding can save this species from extinction in its natural habitat.

TO underground mammals are predominantly rodents. Among them there is a complete series of transitions from burrowers - ground squirrels, marmots, voles, etc., who spend a significant part of their lives on the surface of the earth, to diggers - mole rats, zokors and a number of others, almost never coming to its surface.

Typical burrowing forms are also found in other orders: the marsupial mole - among the marsupials; mole, African golden mole - among insectivores; armadillos - from edentates; The aardvark is also a burrower. Shrews are characterized by reduced eyes and auricles, a ridged body shape, a short tail or even its complete absence, and low, lint-free fur. Some of them make their passages with the help of short but extremely powerful forelimbs, for example, the mole, the zokor, others use their teeth for this, for example, the mole rat, the mole rat and a number of other rodents. It is noteworthy that in some representatives of the latter group the lower jaw can move to an additional articular surface located behind the “normal” one, and in this case the animal can act with its upper incisors like a hoe.

TO arboreal mammal This includes, first of all, the vast majority of monkeys and prosimians, a number of rodents and marsupials. There are arboreal forms among insectivores (tupaya), and among edentates (sloths, prehensile-tailed anteaters), and among carnivores. Arboreal mammals are characterized by grasping or prehensile paws, like those of monkeys, prosimians, many marsupials, often a prehensile tail, for example, most broad-nosed monkeys, some marsupials (cuscus and possums), arboreal forms of anteaters, lizards and porcupines, among the carnivores - South American noses. Marsupial flying squirrels, woolly winged squirrels, among rodents - real flying squirrels and African spiny-tailed squirrels have a skin fold on the sides of the body, which increases its “bearing surface” when jumping.

To the present flying animals include only bats, of which the majority are at the same time associated with tree plantationsniyami. Such are fruit bats, feeding on fruits and resting among the branches, many insectivores the bats spending the day in hollows. Of our forms, the most associated with trees is the rufous noctule, living exclusively in hollows.

Aquatic mammals, perhaps the most diverse of all the main ecological groups of mammals: a full range of transitions from such forms as mink, polar bear, water vole, in which the morphological adaptations associated with a semi-aquatic lifestyle are barely expressed, up to whales and dolphins, which have the organization of strictly aquatic animals that quickly die out of water.

Semi-aquatic image Many mammals from a wide variety of orders lead their lives: from monotremes - the platypus, from marsupials - the South American swimmer (the only aquatic marsupial), from insectivores - our water shrew and the African otter shrew, from rodents - the water vole, muskrat, nutria, capybara and a number of others , among predators - mink, otter, polar bear, and among ungulates - hippopotamus. Even more aquatic animals are the beaver, and even more so the muskrat and sea otter, or the Kamchatka sea otter. With the exception of the hippopotamus, all these animals are characterized by extremely thick fur, sharply divided into awns and undercoat. The auricles are either absent or greatly reduced. Many hind limbs are equipped with well-developed swimming membranes (muskrat, beaver, platypus, which also have membranes on their front legs), and in sea otters they have turned into real flippers. The tail, at least in smaller forms, is well developed.

The sea otter or sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a predatory mammal of the Pacific coast, a representative of the mustelid family (Mustelidae), and is the closest relative of otters. This cute sea creature is famous for its original appearance, unique habits and way of life.

The sea otter occupies a key position in the ocean community. Once upon a time, sea otters were found in the coastal waters of the entire northern Pacific: from Japan to California, but indefatigable fishing and changes environment led to a widespread reduction in their habitat. The waters of Eastern Kamchatka are one of the few available places, where you can still see these amazing animals today.

Sea otters are inhabitants of shallow coastal areas with depths not exceeding 100 meters.

Scientists distinguish three subspecies of these animals. The southern sea otter lives off the coast of California; the population numbers about 3 thousand individuals.

The northern sea otter's range occupies most of the North American coast: from California to the Aleutian Islands. They are most numerous in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, where they number up to 70 thousand individuals.

A third subspecies, the Asian sea otter, lives in Russian waters. According to various estimates, there are from 25 to 30 thousand individuals in the waters of the Kuril, Commander Islands, and Eastern Kamchatka.

What does a sea otter look like? Photo of sea otter

One of the first serious descriptions of the animal dates back to 1741 and is contained in “Beasts of the Sea” by Georg Steller. A young naturalist from the Second Kamchatka Expedition, Vitus Bering, during a harsh winter on the Commander Islands, observed the nature of this remote Pacific corner and described the animals and nature of the island. “The sea otter looks like an overgrown otter: a compact round head, an elongated body with short legs and a thick tail,” wrote Vitus Bering.

The sea otter is the largest representative of the mustelid family, and is the only one of this family that is entirely a marine animal. The body length of adult males can reach 1.3 m in length, body weight often reaches 45 kg. Females are noticeably smaller.

In terms of the shape of the head and the general structure of the body, the sea otter resembles a river otter, but it is much more massive, and its body is more elongated. The front paws are small, the toes are almost not pronounced; The hind legs are large and flipper-shaped. The head of the animal is round, the neck is short and thick. The slightly flattened muzzle is decorated with a large black nose and thick whiskers. The animal's ears are small, almost invisible on the head.

In the photo, the sea otter shows off its magnificent fur.

Why does a sea otter need warm fur?

The animal's fur is very thick, soft and silky. Its color varies from brown to almost black; light brown color is rare. By advanced age, the animal’s fur acquires a noble light silver hue.

Indigenous people have hunted sea otters for their incredible fur for centuries. The surviving members of the Bering expedition can also thank the beast for successful wintering, however, for the sea otter itself the consequences were catastrophic. Since then, Russian and American fishermen have begun to mercilessly kill sea otters, supplying the most valuable fur to the European market.

Why is sea otter skin so good? The sea otter looks like a typical land animal, but spends a significant part of its life in the water. The thermal conductivity of water is several times higher than that of air, which means that heat conservation is especially important for aquatic mammals. Nature has awarded the sea otter the thickest fur in the world: the density of hairs is up to 150 thousand per square centimeter. Long guard hairs (2-4 cm) form the mechanical frame of the protective layer, and air is retained between short (0.5-3 cm) downy hairs, which retards the transfer of heat to the external environment.

A warm fur coat requires constant care. Lying on their backs in the waves, adult animals scratch themselves from nose to tail with their front paws. Animals spend over 10% of their time cleaning their coats. Just as we fluff up a pillow before going to bed, they rub the skin, renewing the insulating air layer. Their mothers take care of the fur of the cubs. During courtship, males gently stroke females.

Such a reverent attitude towards their fur leaves a certain imprint on social relations: fights between these animals are extremely rare, because even a trifling wound can disrupt the integrity of the heat-insulating layer and lead to hypothermia. Therefore, the clarification of relationships between males is limited to demonstrative poses and threats. And if animals bite, it is on the nose, and mainly during mating games.

Hunting Talents

The basis of the sea otter's diet is bottom invertebrates: sea urchins, crabs, octopuses. On occasion, they also eat fish, but this is not their main food source. Sea otters They consume more than 150 species of animals, but only 10-20 are the main ones in the diet. Cubs prefer to feed on the same types of invertebrates as their mothers.

To survive, a sea otter needs to eat an amount of food daily that amounts to 20-25% of its own body weight. Intelligence, dexterity and possession of some unique skills help the animal get enough food.

The sea otter collects most of its food items from the bottom. For digging bivalves he uses the following tactics: he actively digs with his front paws, and at the same time makes circular movements with his back paws to stay near the bottom. At the same time, he plunges his muzzle into the hole, looking for a mollusk. The animal can remain under water from 30 to 60 seconds and dives to the same hole three or more times to enlarge it and pick up all the mollusks found.

Having collected food for itself (it often places it in thick folds on the stomach or in a fold of skin under the armpit), the animal floats to the surface and begins to eat. Large, rounded molars are well suited for crushing the shells of sea urchins and the shells of abalone and mussels. But smart animals created their own unique food culture - using stones to open the shell. It should be noted here that tool use among non-primates is extremely rare. Sea otters are high-order predators.

So, to open the shell, the sea otter finds a stone (usually a flat stone with a diameter of up to 18 cm), rolls over on its back, places the stone on its chest and uses it as an anvil. Firmly holding a shell in its mitten-like front paws, the animal hits the stone with force. A few blows are enough to break it. The sea otter then extracts the contents with its protruding lower incisors. In places where there are no stones, but only sand and clay, the animal uses one shell as a hammer and the other as an anvil. After lunch, the animal carefully cleans its coat of food debris.

Sea otters consume most of the necessary moisture with food, although, unlike other marine mammals, able to drink sea water.

Family matters

The structure of sea oat society is extremely variable. Foraging for food or mating rituals do not require collective action, so adult animals can often be found alone. They can also form groups of different composition. The strongest social bonds are in mother-calf pairs. There are also groups of adolescent males and groups of adult males. However, uneven distribution and lack of feeding places lead to the formation of sea otter aggregations. Often, while resting, dozens of animals lying together form a real living raft. Perhaps this is done to protect against sharks and killer whales.

The largest gatherings can number up to several hundred individuals. Oddly enough, strangers are easily accepted into such isolated groups, which is actually not very typical for mammals. Approaching a cluster of relatives, the sea otter moves its head from side to side. This is not only a kind of greeting, but also a way to receive more information thanks to sniffing other individuals. Sometimes sea otters wrap themselves in long algae thalli to anchor themselves in their resting place.

Sea otters do not have a specific breeding season. Males may spend several days with a female in heat, but never stay with her for long. At any other time, males are not very fond of females and may even take prey from them.

Sea otters have one interesting feature, which is not often found in animals: delayed embryonic development. The pause between fertilization and the beginning of embryonic development can last 2-3 months, so that childbirth occurs at the optimal time for this. The pregnancy itself lasts from 6 to 8 months.

Usually 1 cub is born, only in rare cases are twins born, then one of them, as a rule, dies. Females can become very attached to their babies. It happens that even after six months, when the cub reaches the size of an adult, the mother does not stop combing it, holding it on her chest.

Conservation in nature

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the number of sea otters declined catastrophically due to hunting for their valuable fur. The species was on the verge of extinction. In 1911, the USA, Great Britain, Russia and Japan entered into an agreement banning the hunting of these animals. Since then, there has been a constant increase in the number of the species from 1,500 individuals at the beginning of the 20th century to 100,000 at present.

However, sea otters continue to be at risk of extinction. Habitat degradation and water pollution are more pressing problems today than ever before. A stark reminder that human activity can jeopardize the survival of a population in an instant is the 1989 tanker sinking in Prince William Sound. Horrible oil pollution led to the death of 5,000 sea otters.

Wildlife sanctuaries and other protected marine habitats play a key role in the conservation of these amazing animals. In Kamchatka, these are the water areas of the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve and the Kronotsky Nature Reserve. Such coastal waters are the main habitat of the sea otter. Protected waters include bays, bays and islands teeming with marine life. Restrictions economic activity and disturbances from vessel traffic help preserve the natural diversity of marine communities. Sea otters calmly go about their business - looking for food, sleeping or cleaning themselves, without noticing the approach of a boat. And if you are lucky enough to see a sea otter, do not scare it when you meet it, watch how it dissects a hedgehog or takes care of its fur coat.

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