-- ANIMAL FACTS --
THE OTTER


The otter has a long, slender, sleek body, weighing approximately 20 pounds (9 kg) and about two and a half feet (76 cm) long. His head is small and round, with small eyes, small ears, and long whiskers. The otter has short but powerful legs with four webbed feet and a long tail. His short dense fur is dark brown while his chin and stomach are reddish yellow, and a touch of gray. Females are a little smaller than males. The otter is found in the United States and Canada. Similar species are found in Mexico, Central and South America, as well as Eurasia.

The otter is found in streams, rivers, lakes, and saltwater and freshwater marshes. The main food is fish, crayfish, frogs, turtles, plus an occasional bird, rodent or rabbit.

He spends two-thirds of the time on land. The female mates in the spring shortly after giving birth to two to four young (sometimes missing a year). The young otters (kits) start their life in a burrow in a river bank, usually an abandoned muskrat den. Born blind and helpless, they are nursed by the female for a month. Their mother teaches them to swim and hunt.

The otter is not affected by the cold because of it's outer coat of coarse hairs and thick undercoat. It's the fur that keeps them warm. They seem to enjoy frolicking in ice and snow.