sea otters
Floating abalone crackers
Sea otters are marine mammals native to the North Pacific coast, known for floating on their backs and using rocks as tools to crack open shellfish.
Unlike other marine mammals, they lack blubber and rely on extremely dense fur for insulation—the densest of any animal.
They spend most of their lives in the water, often in kelp forests: We watched the sea otters cracking shells on their bellies.
- adorableExtremely endearing
- kelp forestsDense underwater seaweed ecosystems
- furAnimal body hair
- holding handsGripping another's palm
- marine mammalWarm-blooded ocean dweller
endangered · mammals · raft · coastal ecosystem · Monterey Bay · California coast · marine conservation · keystone species · oil spills · tool use · indigenous heritage · Aleutian Islands · Pacific Ocean · paws · diving · clams · aquatic · ocean life
- ottersholt, romp, raft, fur, pelt
- BC CoastVancouver Island, Victoria, Nanaimo, Duncan, Sidney
- California conservationwildlife corridors, wildlife refuges, habitat preservation, marine reserves, conservation laws
- Coastal AlaskaSitka, Juneau, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay, fjords
- kelp forestskelp, giant kelp, bull kelp
- beachbeach, sand, wave, waves, surf
sea otterssea urchins
Spiny spherical marine invertebrates
orcas · great white sharks · kelp · apex predators · plankton