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Otter

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                  iOtters
   North American River Otters
   North American River Otters
         Scientific classification

   Kingdom:   Animalia
   Phylum:    Chordata
   Class:     Mammalia
   Order:     Carnivora
   Family:    Mustelidae
   Subfamily: Lutrinae

                                   Genera

   Amblonyx
   Aonyx
   Enhydra
   Lontra
   Lutra
   Lutrogale
   Pteronura

   The aquatic (sometimes marine) carnivorous mammals known as otters form
   part of the large and diverse family Mustelidae, which also includes
   weasels, polecats, badgers, and others. With 13 species in 7 genera,
   otters have an almost worldwide distribution.

   English-speakers may use the collective noun romp to refer to a group
   of otters ( a Google search as of 2 November 2006 lists 210 occurrences
   of the phrase "romp of otters", but the OED does not appear to record
   this usage).

Physical characteristics

   Otters have a dense layer (1,000 hairs/mm², 650,000 hairs per sq. in)
   of very soft underfur which, protected by their outer layer of long
   guard hairs, keeps them dry under water and traps a layer of air to
   keep them warm.

   All otters have long, slim, streamlined bodies of extraordinary grace
   and flexibility, and short limbs; in most cases they have webbed paws.
   Most have sharp claws to grasp prey, but the short-clawed otter of
   southern Asia has only vestigial claws, and two closely-related species
   of African otter have no claws at all: these species live in the often
   muddy rivers of Africa and Asia and locate their prey by touch.

Diet

   Most otters have fish as the primary item in their diet, supplemented
   by frogs, crayfish and crabs; some have become expert at opening
   shellfish, and others will take any available small mammals or birds.
   The faeces of an otter is referred to as scat. To survive in the cold
   waters where many otters live, they do not depend on their specialised
   fur alone: they have very high metabolic rates and burn up energy at a
   profligate pace: Eurasian otters, for example, must eat 15% of their
   body-weight a day; sea otters, 20 to 25%, depending on the temperature.
   This prey-dependence leaves otters very vulnerable to prey depletion.
   In water as warm as 10°C an otter needs to catch 100 g of fish per
   hour: less than that and it cannot survive. Most species hunt for 3 to
   5 hours a day, nursing mothers up to 8 hours a day.

Species

Northern River Otter

   The northern river otter (Lontra canadensis) became one of the major
   animals hunted and trapped for fur in North America after European
   contact. As one of the most playful, curious, and active species of
   otter, they have become a popular exhibit in zoos and aquaria, but
   unwelcome on agricultural land because they alter river banks for
   access, sliding, and defense. River otters eat a variety of fish and
   shellfish, as well as small land mammals and birds. They grow to 1 m (3
   to 4 feet) in length and weigh from 5 to 15 kg (10 to 30 pounds). Once
   found all over North America, they have become rare or extinct in most
   places, although flourishing in some locations.

   Some jurisdictions have made otters a protected species in some areas,
   and some places have otter sanctuaries. These sanctuaries help ill and
   injured otters to recover.
   An otter in Olympic National Park.
   Enlarge
   An otter in Olympic National Park.

Sea Otter

   Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) live along the Pacific coast of North
   America. Their historic range included shallow waters of the Bering
   Strait and Kamchatka, and as far south as Japan. Sea otters have some
   200,000 hairs per square cm of skin, a rich fur for which humans hunted
   them almost to extinction. By the time the 1911 Fur Seal Treaty gave
   them protection, so few sea otters remained that the fur trade had
   become unprofitable.

   Sea otters eat shellfish and other invertebrates (especially clams,
   abalone, and sea urchins ), and one can frequently observe them using
   rocks as crude tools to smash open shells. They grow to 1 to 2 m (2.5
   to 6 feet) in length and weigh 30 kg (25 to 60 pounds). Although once
   near extinction, they have begun to spread again, starting from the
   California coast.

   Unlike most marine mammals ( seals, for example, or whales), sea otters
   do not have a layer of insulating blubber. As with other species of
   otter, they rely on air-pockets trapped in their fur.

Maxwell's Otter

   Zoologists believe that a sub-species of otter Lutrogale perspicillata
   maxwelli (named 'Maxwell's Otter' after the British naturalist Gavin
   Maxwell and the subject of his book Ring of Bright Water) lived in the
   Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh of Iraq. Some have suggested that
   this sub-species may have become extinct as a result of the large-scale
   drainage that has taken place in the region since the 1960s.

European Otter

   European otter
   Enlarge
   European otter

   Otters also inhabit Europe. In the United Kingdom they occurred
   commonly as recently as the 1950s, but have now become rare due to the
   former use of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides and as a result of
   habitat-loss. Population levels attained a low point in the 1980s, but
   with the aid of a number of initiatives, by 1999 estimated numbers
   indicated a recovery to under 1000 animals. The UK Biodiversity Action
   Plan envisages the re-introduction of otters by 2010 to all the UK
   rivers and coastal areas that they inhabited in 1960. Roadkill deaths
   have become one of the significant threats to the success of their
   re-introduction.

Giant Otter

   The Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) inhabits South America,
   especially the Amazon river basin, but is becoming increasingly rare
   due to poaching, habitat loss, and the use of mercury and other toxins
   in illegal alluvial gold mining. This gregarious animal gets up to six
   feet / 1.83m long. See Giant otter.

Otters in mythology

   Norse mythology tells of the dwarf Ótr habitually taking the form of an
   otter. (Note that the Old Icelandic word otr means "otter"; these and
   cognate words in other Indo-European languages ultimately stem from a
   root which apparently also gave rise to the English words "water",
   "wet" and "winter".)

   In some Native American cultures, otters are considered totem animals.
   The time of year associated with this is also associated with the
   aquarius zodiac house, which is traditionally observed January
   20th-February 18th.

   According to Jamie Sams and David Carson, authors of Medicine Cards:
   The Discovery of Power Animals Through the Ways of Animals the medicine
   held by Otter is a set of lessons in a female energy. This applies to
   both men and women, as all of us have female sides. The Otter's hide is
   very often used to make medicine bags for powerful women because it
   represents balanced female energy. Otter is very caring of its young
   and will play for hours, performing all types of acrobatics. It lives
   on land, but always has its home near water. The elements of Earth and
   Water are the female elements. At home in both of these elements, Otter
   i the personification of feminity: long, sleek, and graceful, Otter is
   the true coquette of the animal world. Otter is always on the move and
   is very curious. Unlike other animals, Otter will not start a fight
   unless it is attacked first. This joyful litter creature is
   advertursome and assmes that all other creatures are friendly - until
   proven otherwise. These character traits are the beauty of a balanced
   female side, the side of ourselves that creates a space for others to
   enter our lives without preconceptions or suspicions. Otter teaches us
   that balanced female energy is not jealous or catty. It is sisterhood,
   content to enjoy and share the good fortune of others. Anchored in the
   understanding that all accomplishments are worthwhile for the whole
   tribe, Otter people express joy for others. Long ago, in tribal law, if
   a woman were wideowed, her sister would offer her own husband to the
   widow as a lover to keep her from drying up and not using her creative
   urges. This is Otter medicine, too. Envy, or the fear of being
   replaced, has no space in Otter's balanced understanding of sharing
   goodness. Woman energy without games or control is a beautiful
   experience. It is the freenes of love without jealousy. It is the joy
   of loving other people's children and their accomplishments as much as
   you love your own. IT may be time to examine your feelings about
   sharing the bounty of your life with others. Otter may be saying that
   the finer qualities of woman need to be striven for in both men and
   women so that a unity of spirit can be achieved. This would involve the
   destruction of jealousy and of all the acts of anger which stem from
   that fear. It would mean keeping a Hawk-eye on your ego and maintaining
   total trust. It would mean a would full of people coming together to
   honour the right of each person to be.

Otters in literature

   Non-fiction: Gavin Maxwell's stories of his life in a remote part of
   northern Scotland and of the otters he encountered there:
     * Ring of Bright Water
     * The Rocks Remain

   Fiction:
     * Otters appear very commonly in Brian Jacques's Redwall series.
     * Henry Williamson's story Tarka the Otter
     * Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows
     * M. I. McAllister's The Mistmantle Chronicles
     * Thornton Burgess's " Little Joe Otter"
     * Otters were a frequent obsession of the surreal comedy Dare To
       Believe.
     * Otter-like creatures called fenlings appear in David Eddings's
       series of books The Belgariad.

List of species

   Genus Lutra
     * European Otter (Lutra lutra)
     * Hairy-nosed Otter (Lutra sumatrana)

   Genus Hydrictis
     * Speckle-throated Otter (Hydrictis maculicollis)

   Genus Lutrogale
     * Smooth-coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata)

   Genus Lontra
     * Northern River Otter (Lontra canadensis)
     * Southern River Otter (Lontra provocax)
     * Long-tailed Otter (Lontra longicaudis)
     * Marine Otter (Lontra felina)

   Genus Pteronura
     * Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)

   Genus Aonyx
     * African Clawless Otter (Aonyx capensis)
     * Congo Clawless Otter (Aonyx congicus)

   Genus Amblonyx
     * Oriental Small-clawed Otter (Amblonyx cinereus)

   Genus Enhydra
     * Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)

Gallery

   Oriental Small-clawed Otter

   Giant Otter

   A North American river otter in Asseteague Wildlife Refuge

   Sea Otters

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otter"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
